What the Future Holds
by MaddieWrites
Summary: Set 2 years after City of Heavenly Fire. Clary and Jace are still very happily together and looking forward to what the future holds. But will they get the happy ending they want and deserve? And who comes back from the dead and needs rescuing by the famous 5? (Lots of clace!)
1. Chapter 1

**What the Future Holds**

A/N: This is my first fanfiction in a few years so I may be a little rusty. But I've been contemplating coming back into it for a while, so this is where I want to start – with a bit of cute Clace fluff that we all love. Set 2 years after City of Heavenly Fire ends.

She fell back onto the black training mat beneath her, rolling away like she had been taught. Behind her a low growl erupted, and silent feet chased after her. She glanced behind her, spotting a golden lion chasing after its prey. She laughed out loud, and veered to the right. Her lion was surprised by the sudden change of direction, and she leaped at him, landing on his back. She wrapped her legs around his torso and put her arms over his shoulder until she was piggybacking him. She kissed his cheek and laughed. "Got you," she declared.

He laughed and put his hands behind her knees, hoisting her up so she was balanced on his hips. "You've always had me," he said. And then she yelped in surprise as the world was suddenly upside down, and she was on the mat with her golden lion hovering above her. "And now I have you."

She glanced up into his golden eyes that were swelling like a fire the more he looked at her. She smiled up at him, and he smiled one of his real smiles, one that wasn't just the quirk of his lips. She reached up and tucked a golden lock of his hair behind his ear. "Kiss me," she whispered, and he lowered his head and took her lips into his own. He balanced himself with his elbows on either side of her head, careful not to put too much weight on her delicate, doll-like body. He took her lower lip hostage, sucking on it, nipping at it, telling her how much he loved her against it.

A sound came from the doorway, someone clearing their throat. Clary sprung away from Jace, pushing him off her. She brushed her messy hair back, blushing until she was the same colour as her hair. Jace just grinned smugly.

Alec stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed before him. "I thought you guys were meant to be training?"

Clary flushed harder. "We were… are… we are."

Alec roared with laughter. "Right. Is that what training looks like nowadays?"

"Yes, Alec," Jace said, and Clary suddenly feared for her pride. Jace had a way with his words. "It takes a lot of effort to kiss somebody, a lot of breath, and you never know when kissing will come in handy."

"Oh, my god," Clary said with embarrassment. "Well, I think that's enough training for the day. I think I might go shower." She scrambled to her feet, kissing Jace quickly on the way, and ran for the door.

"Aren't going with her, lover boy?" Alec joked, and Jace wiggled his eyebrows as he watched the girl disappear.

***PAGE BREAK***

There was a knock on his door. He looked up from the book he was reading, encouraging them to come in. Clary pushed the door open, standing awkwardly, her toes curling into the carpet. Jace was stretched out on his bed, looking at her with his golden eyes like she was the brightest thing in the room. He abandoned the book on the nightstand, and held out a hand for her to take.

"Hey," he said, "I've told you, you don't have to knock, you know? You're always welcome to just come in."

"I know," she replied, "but I don't want to invade your privacy."

"My privacy is your privacy. We're a team, a couple, better with each other together." She blushed and sat beside him on the bed. "I thought you had to be home by six?" he murmured as she curled into his side, and he ran his fingers through her tumbling red locks.

"Mum and Luke are having a date night. You know how they still don't like leaving me at home on my own."

His eyes lit up and he pulled back just a little bit to gaze at her. "So, you're staying here tonight?"

She rolled her eyes, smiling. "Yeah, but Mum gave me strict warning about sleeping in one of the spare bedrooms tonight. No boyfriends allowed apparently."

Jace looked like a wounded child who had just had his lollypop taken off him. She laughed and slapped his arm. "I can stay here a little longer before I have to go to bed." He grinned and pulled her closer into him until his arms were fully wrapped around her, and her head was pillowed against his chest with the sound of his beating heart filling her ear.

Eventually their breathing slowed to match each other, the beating of their heart intertwined, and they fell into the world of dreams, without Clary moving to her own bedroom. It was the best sleep either of them had had in ages.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

It was familiar, but also unfamiliar, the weight of someone else's arm draped over her waist as she slept. She sighed happily as she broke from her dreams, and glanced over at the boy who had his face tipped towards her, but his eyes still closed. Clary smiled as she watched Jace sleep, having never seen it before. She wished to trace her fingers over his cheekbones, over his lips which she loved to kiss, through his hair which still reminded her of a lion's mane. She wanted to feel like she was drawing him to life. But she knew a single touch would wake him instantly, and this was too rare of an occasion to spoil. _How was it possible he was hers?_ She wondered.

She scooted closer to him, now not caring if she woke him. She rolled towards him until her head was tucked under his chin, her nose pressed into his warm chest. She breathed in, smelling his familiar smell of soap and metal. _He was hers_ , she thought and smiled. She felt his thumb brush over her hip, rubbing the bone soothingly. Clary snuggled in closer before looking up. He had a sleepy look which still hung over his expressions, but he smiled down at her.

"Morning," she sang and leaned up to press her lips to his. He was the first one to pull away which Clary found unusual. Jace loved kissing until they were both out of breath. But this morning, he didn't want to do that. Instead he lifted his hand and placed it on the side of her face. She leaned into his touch, pressing her lips to his rough palm which was callused from the years of holding a weapon. He whispered how beautiful she was, and of course, she blushed.

"I thought you weren't meant to spend the night in here?" He eventually said, with an eyebrow raised cheekily.

She shrugged. "I'm glad I did. I don't ever want to leave."

His eyes softened until the gold in them was like honey. He brushed her curls away from her face. "You never have to leave."

"But I do… My parents will expect me home tonight, and every other night after that. And that's not what I want. I want to be with you all the time, I want to fall asleep next to you, and wake up beside you. I want to start my day with you, and the others."

His lips were parted as he stared at her. He pressed his lips to hers in a passionate kiss. He rested his forehead against Clary's and sighed, "One day… One day we will have that."

***PAGE BREAK***

Clary and Jace walked down to the kitchen, hand in hand, talking as they went. Everyone was in there already. They glanced up as the couple walked through and they raised their eyebrows at them.

"Good morning, you two," Magnus said, his arm around Alec's waist. "Been good I hope?"

Jace was about to reply when he noticed who was standing behind the stove cooking breakfast. "Oh, definitely not. I am not eating anything you cook, Isabelle."

Isabelle turned away from the stove, spatula raised in one hand. "I'll have you know that I'm actually a good cook." Jace made a face which said that he didn't think so. "Simon always says I'm a good cook."

"Yeah, probably because he doesn't want to get slaughtered." That came from Alec and Jace laughed. Simon was always in Idris at the Shadowhunter academy, and Isabelle often felt his absence like it was a broken heart. Clary thought she cooked to make herself feel better.

Jace pulled Clary over to the island in the middle of the kitchen. "I'm sure it's not that bad, right, Izzy?" Clary said and wandered over to where Isabelle was cooking.

"Exactly," she said, and then, "try this." Izzy lifted a spoon to Clary's mouth and Clary took the unknown food into her mouth.

"Mmm," she said while Isabelle watched her, but shook her head when Jace raised an eyebrow. He smirked.

Jace swiped an apple out of the fruit bowl on the counter, and held it up so Clary could see. She came around to stand beside him. Even though he was sitting, Clary was still an inch shorter than him. She placed a hand on his shoulder, watching as he carved the apple in two, and offered her half. The apple was sweet, reminding her of the greenhouse and their shared kiss which had tasted of apples. She leaned against his shoulder as the memory bloomed at the front of her memories and she felt his hand slip around her waist.

Once breakfast was finished, everyone started to disappear from the kitchen, but Jace told them all to wait. They all turned back, confused. Clary could see him sweating; it glistened over his golden skin. She didn't think it was that warm in here.

"I wasn't planning on doing this this morning but Clary got me thinking." She raised an eyebrow at him, and gasped as he went down on one knee and took both of her hands in his. Tears immediately sprung to her eyes; one fell onto her cheek but she didn't want to take her hand out of Jace's to brush it away. She let it fall.

"Clarissa Fairchild, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever laid my eyes on. I love you, and always have, from the second I laid eyes on you. Everything you said this morning is true for me too: I want to have you in my life always, I want to spend every second with you, I want to fall asleep beside you and wake with you in my arms. I want your face to be the first thing I see. So, Clarissa Fairchild, I want to make that happen, and if it was to happen, I would be the happiest and luckiest man alive. Will you—"

There was a crash outside the institute, breaking Jace's heartfelt speech off. Clary had been sucked into Jace's gaze as he spoke but now her eyes had lifted to the direction the sound had come from. "I think it's coming from outside the institute," she said. It came again, but louder, and multiplied. "It can't be…" she murmured but couldn't bear to finish the sentence.

She reached into her boot and drew out a dagger, the others drew seraph blades from the kitchen stash; Jace handed her one as he murmured, "Gabriel."

They proceeded to the front of the institute together, weapons raised in readiness. Isabelle pressed her ear to the door, the blood drained from her face. Alec, taller than Isabelle, peered through the window of the door and cursed.

"Demons," he said. "There's demons at the door of the institute."


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! Welcome back to another chapter! Hope you guys are like this one. Let me know in the reviews what you're liking, what you're not liking, and if there's anything you would like me to do! x**

CHAPTER THREE

"What do we do?" Clary said, glancing around her friends, her gaze lingering on Jace for a moment longer. "We could just let it go. I mean, they're not inside the institute."

Jace glanced down at her, raising an eyebrow. "We have to kill them." Clary nodded. She knew he was right.

"Right then," she said. "Who's going to do the honour of opening the door and letting it begin?"

With a grin, Jace reached around her, kissed her on the cheek, and opened the door. He could practically taste the battle on his tongue already, hear the screams as his enemies died before him, at the end of his sword.

Without the door as a barricade, the sound of the demons chattering to each other, telling each other how hungry they were for Nephilim blood, was even louder than before. They were ugly, mouths opened in a cat's like hiss, teeth bared, ready to pierce down on human flesh if they allowed it. They were just raum demons, but there was dozens of them, more demons than shadowhunters. Jace being Jace was the first one to lunge into the killing crowd, his glowing seraph blade held in front of him and already slicing through demon legs. Alec followed after his parabatai, already backing him up, spinning when Jace spun, stabbing when his friend stabbed.

Isabelle released her whip from around her wrist, instantly flicking it so it fell down on some poor unsuspecting creature. It screamed as her weapon bit into its flesh, black ichor spilling out of its wound before it disappeared in a puff of dust to return to its home dimension. Clary was hesitant to follow, distracted by the rest of them, and their beauty when they fought. She had trained beside the rest for a couple of years now, but she still didn't feel like she could fight as well as them. While Jace had his grace, she felt clunky. While Izzy had her confidence, Clary was unsure. She watched Jace. His face was scrunched up in determination, black ichor already streaked across his cheeks. He was almost like a dancer, dancing around the demons, pirouetting and leaping between them. He slashed at them, and stabbed at them, never failing to miss a target. As if feeling Clary's gaze on him, Jace lifted his gaze to hers momentarily. He smiled when he saw her watching, and then raised an eyebrow at her, probably wondering why she was just standing there watching him.

In his moment of distraction, a Raum demon raised its head, biting down on Jace's leg. His face scrunched up in pain, but he didn't cry out, too much of a warrior to show his pain. Clary cried Jace's name out and leaped to his aid. She dived into the crowd, fighting the demons off, creating a path to her lion. He had managed to fight the one demon off, but he had slowed down with the demon blood now pumping in his veins. Clary dived to stand in front of him, rage filling her body until she was seeing red. Nobody hurt her boyfriend. Jace was hers, and nobody else's.

She slashed wildly, not seeing whether the creatures died or were just injured. It felt like hours had passed when somebody touched her shoulder, and a voice spoke her name gently. She realised that her arm was aching from hacking through demon flesh. She realised that ichor covered her clothes and her skin. She only then began to feel the sting of the poison. It was only then that she saw Jace's face looking at her with concern, his head bent so that his eyes were level with hers.

"Clary," he said again, and his face came into clear view. She could now see his golden irises, his pupils blown out wide with the effort of the fight. She could see every strand of his eyebrows, the crack in his lip which shed a single drop of blood. "It's over now. They're all gone."

She flung her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly until no air could pass between them. She buried her face into the crook of his neck, smelling blood and demon ichor, but still smelling like the Jace she knew and loved. He grunted in what sounded like pain, but he wrapped his arms around her waist anyway. The memories of the battle flooded her mind and she quickly withdrew, glancing down at his leg. She grimaced, looking down at the broken and bloody flesh.

"Oh my god…" she murmured. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. A little demon spit won't kill me." But when she glanced up into his eyes, she could see pain lingering in the background. She felt like only she could see that much emotion from Jace and she prided herself in being the one Jace showed so much of himself to.

She reached into the back pocket of her jeans and withdrew her stele. "Hold still," she said. Clary took Jace's hand in hers, turning it up so his palm faced the sky. She pressed her stele to his skin, the iratze forming easily beneath her fingers. She watched as the rune disappeared beneath his skin, working its magic until it was just a faint line. She traced where the rune had been with her finger. It was all her fault he had been hurt. If she had have just fought without a second's doubt, none of this would have happened.

Clary felt the pressure of Jace's fingers beneath her chin. They were warm to the touch, and lifting her gaze to his. "Hey, what's wrong? I'm okay. I'm still here." She flickered her gaze away from his. She didn't deserve to look at him. Now she realised how Jace must have felt after the incident with Lilith – guilty more than anything else over her being the reason he had been hurt.

Clary went to pull away, thinking she didn't even deserve to be anywhere near him. How could he want to be anywhere near her anyway? Jace grabbed at her hand, pulling her back. "Jace… don't…"

"You have nothing to worry about. I'm okay."

Clary just nodded and said, "But you might not have been, and it would have been because of me."

He threaded his fingers through her red curls, probably getting demon blood through it, but she didn't care. He shook his head, his gaze softening on her. He circled his arms around her, pulling her into him. He rested his head on the top of her head, feeling the strands of her hair tickle the side of his face. Clary buried her face into his chest, gripping the front of his T-shirt until her knuckles grew white. So many times she had come close to losing him. Once she even did, but she had managed to bring him back. She thanked the angels for that. But so many other times, she had almost lost the man she loved. She couldn't bear to think of what a world without him might look like.

Never moving his arms, Jace guided them both inside the institute. The others had already moved away, having decided to give them some privacy. Jace sat her down at the island in the middle of the kitchen, taking the seraph blade from her which she had picked up before coming back inside. He went over to the counter, flicked a switch, the sound of the coffee machine whirring and groaning as the espresso dripped out and into a cup below it.

Jace placed the steaming mug of coffee before his girlfriend. He watched as she took the cup into her hands, wrapping her fingers around it, her eyes fluttering closed as if the heat was all she was hanging onto. He reached across to place his hand on the side of her face, his thumb brushing her cheekbone. She leaned into the touch of his hand, letting it hold her head as if it were a pillow. She sighed into it before opening her eyes to look at him. Every time she looked at him, he was always mesmerised by the startling green colour of her eyes.

He came around to stand beside her, took her in his arms, and held her like that as tears fell from her eyes, and onto his shirt. They stood like that until the tears came to an end, and reluctantly, Jace was forced to let her go, to watch her stumble home to be to her parents.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

It had been a few days since they had last seen each other. A few days since Clary had even been to the institute and trained. She now stood on the edge of a training mat in the institute's gym; Jace was opposite her, his eyes searching her face. He had his hands clutched behind his back, swaying softly on the balls of his feet as if he were nervous.

"So, what did you want to work on today?" Jace asked.

Clary glanced up into his eyes. She could see herself reflected in them; smaller, slighter than him. She looked like a child in adult clothes with freckles which dusted her cheekbones, making her look even younger. She glanced over the swell of Jace's bicep and the way his casual shirt clung to his body, showing the effort and work he had put into his body for so many years. She glanced down at his hands which were callused and rough, worn down to be tough from holding a weapon for years. Her own were slightly scarred but nothing compared to his. Hers still looked like she held a pencil everyday.

"I want you to teach me how to fight," she said and Jace raised his eyebrow. He went to open his mouth to reply but she shook her head, stopping him. "I want you to teach me how to fight," she said again, "Because the other day I hesitated. I doubted myself. Which is stupid because when thrown into a real battle against somebody like my own evil brother and father, I never have a second thought. But the other day… I don't know… I just suddenly realised that I was nothing like the rest of you, and I want to change that. I want my training to be from you, as it always has, because you understand me."

His eyes had softened the entire time she spoke. But he didn't look at her with pity, he would never do that. He looked at her with understanding and then slowly reached out to take her hands between his. He brought them up to his lips and kissed her knuckles. She shivered, remembering the moment after she had killed her brother and Jace had taken her hands into his and murmured, _Warrior hands._ She still didn't know what he saw in them. They were still just artist's hands to her.

He made sure to keep eye contact with her as he spoke, "Clary, you are a shadowhunter and you're an amazing one at that. Saving the world definitely didn't come easy, and you did it all. But, I want to help you through any problems." She smiled up at him and he dropped her hands. "I love you and yes, I do understand you. I love you and that means I want to help you even more than some silly instructors at an academy ever would. So come at me, with everything you've got." She grinned and lunged.

***PAGE BREAK***

When she returned to her room, sweaty and breathing slightly elevated from training, she saw there was a note sitting on the bedside table. On the folded side, her name was written in writing she knew as well as her own writing. _Clary,_ it said.

She perched on the edge of the bed and she opened the folded piece of paper. She read the words which were so elegantly scrawled across it. Her heart rate accelerated for a whole new reason.

 _Clary,_

 _Tonight is our night. I've called your parents and they're okay for you to stay over. Yes, I know, in a separate room. But what do they have to know? I just wanted to have a night that was just ours, particularly after everything that's happened recently._

 _Will you meet me in the greenhouse at 6:00pm? Wear something nice, please._

 _Love you,_

 _Yours,_

 _Jace_

Her heart fluttered and butterflies flittered around in her stomach. She glanced at the clock beside her bed. 5:45. She had 15 minutes to shower and quickly get dressed. It was as if Isabelle had read her mind, and there was a knock on the door.

Isabelle poked her head in and asked Clary what she was doing tonight. Clary told her she had a date with Jace. Isabelle's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Let me help you! Please?" Isabelle exclaimed, jumping up and down on the spot.

Clary groaned but let her friend shove her into the bathroom to shower. "I don't want too over the top though, Iz. Just simple, but pretty." Isabelle rolled her eyes but nodded.

When Clary emerged from the shower a few moments later, a towel wrapped around herself, Isabelle was already there shoving clothes into her hands, simply telling her to get dressed. Clary was actually impressed with what Isabelle had picked – a green dress which fell to just above her knee. Isabelle forced Clary to sit in front of her while she put some light makeup on her face, and curled Clary's hair but let it fall naturally, just the way Jace loved it.

"Have fun!" Isabelle called as Clary made her way up to the greenhouse. Her heart was hammering in her chest with each step she took. She wasn't sure why her heart was behaving the way it did. She and Jace had had dates before. But something about tonight felt different, more special.

Jace was already there when she arrived and she gasped as she stepped into the greenhouse, looking around at her surroundings. It looked like there were fireflies scattered through the flowers, their bottoms shining a bright light. There were daffodils scattered everywhere, the yellow flowers dancing in a non-existent breeze. Jace stood in the middle of the institute, his hands clasped loosely behind his back. He was dressed in a white button down shirt, which was tucked into a pair of black slacks. A picnic of food was behind him, spread out with all her favourite foods.

"Jace…" she whispered in awe. "How did you—"

"Magnus helped me a bit, but I tried to do most of it."

"When did you even get the time?"

"Last night after you left. I wanted to show you what you mean to me."

"But I know what I mean to you. I know you love me."

He smiled and held out his arms. She moved towards him and circled her arms around his waist. She reached up on her tippy toes, reaching up to peck a kiss to his lips. What had meant to be a soft, quick kiss though, soon escalated to something more passionate. The kiss deepened between them. Jace's hands came up to tangle in her hair, and Clary gripped the front of his shirt, feeling the fabric crinkle but not caring. They pulled away and stared at each other. Jace's pupils were blown wide, and he leaned his forehead against Clary's as he caught his breath.

"Wow," she said and laughed, spreading her fingers across his chest. He chuckled with her.

"You look beautiful, by the way. Green is always my favourite colour on you."

She blushed and kissed his cheek. "You don't scrub up too badly yourself," she said and stepped back to admire his now crumpled shirt.

"Well, you do have pretty good taste in men." Clary rolled her eyes.

Jace stepped back towards the picnic, pulling Clary with him. He settled himself on the blanket, and tugged her down with him so she was seated between his outstretched legs. She leaned against his warm chest, and shivered.

"Are you cold?" He asked and she shrugged saying she was a little bit. He reached for a jacket she hadn't even noticed and draped it around her shoulders. "I know to come prepared now." Clary laughed.

The night went on like that. They ate, they talked, they kissed. They spent the night together for hours until a clock somewhere hidden in the institute chimed and flowers trembled as they burst open with the time of midnight. Clary gasped as she always did. She felt Jace's lips brush her bare shoulder, felt his warm breath flutter across her skin. She shivered again, but for a different reason.

"Happy birthday, Clary," Jace murmured and Clary's heart fluttered. She had forgotten about her birthday. Jace's hand idly played with her hair, twirling it around his fingers as he talked. "I guess this is where I be thankful to your mother for giving you to be me. I am a lucky man, Clarissa Fairchild. I am a lucky man to have such a beautiful woman in my life, a woman who loves me and who I love too. You have my heart, my soul, the air that I breathe. I didn't get to ask this properly the other day, and it has been bothering me ever since. Will you marry me?"

Clary gasped and spun around so she was kneeling on her knees in front of him. His eyes were wide, looking at every inch of her. She could feel tears prickling her eyes. She couldn't speak. She pushed herself off the ground and slammed into him. The air went out of him as he fell back in shock, taking her down with him. They fell backwards, Clary landing on top of him. She buried her face into his shoulder and cried. His arms came up to circle around her.

"Is this a yes?" He laughed nervously. "I can't tell if this you saying yes or crying because you're about to say no."

"Yes," she cried. "Yes, Jace Herondale. I will always say yes."

They stayed there for a little while longer, kissing and holding each other. Eventually they made it down to Jace's bedroom, and clothes became littered around it. They came together under the covers, their bodies never leaving each other.

Eventually, after some time, they fell asleep side by side, their hands interlocked in the space between them.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

They sat in the office of the New York Institute. They didn't touch, but Clary didn't need to touch Jace to know he was right beside her. She was sure Jace felt the same way. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, watching him as he looked over the desk at Maryse with intent and serious eyes. His face was relaxed, and so were his hands which were curled on top of his thighs. He had changed so much since she had met him, had opened up more, was now a much happier man.

She glanced down at her hands, seeing the Herondale ring which now sat on her left ring finger. She hadn't wanted to take it from him. After all, he had only just gotten it as a gift from Tessa Gray. But he had insisted, telling her he wanted her to wear it. She remembered when he had given her the Morgenstern ring for safe keeping. It had been a part of him for years, and now was a part of her. It still hung on a chain over her heart.

"What do you think, Clary?" A voice said and she snapped out of her daze, and glanced up at Maryse. She hadn't been listening, and didn't know what to say.

"Um…" she said and glanced over at Jace, who raised an eyebrow at her. "Can you repeat the question, please?"

Maryse sighed, clearly not impressed. Clary had the feeling Maryse had been talking for a while, and she hadn't heard a single word. "The institute, Clary. I'm stepping down and the Clave wants to know if you and Jace want to take over after me."

Clary let out a breath. To run the institute was a big deal. She glanced at Jace again, and this time he looked back at her evenly. She could see in his eyes that he would agree with whatever decision she wanted to make. But she was unsure of what she wanted to say. She glanced back at Maryse who waited patiently for her response.

"Can we have a little while to discuss and think about it?" Clary asked. Jace reached over and took her hand in his, squeezing it reassuringly. She was grateful.

"Of course," Maryse replied, "Just don't take too long. The Clave doesn't like waiting for their answers."

Jace thanked his step-mother, and escorted Clary out. Jace led her down the hallway and to his bedroom, closing the door with a soft click. She perched on the end of the bed, watching Jace as he moved towards her. He glanced at her face as he sat beside her, taking in the way she gnawed on her bottom lip and how her brow was creased in thought.

"What are you thinking about?" He murmured and reached out, running a finger down one of her curls.

She glanced up at him, trying for a smile, but instead ended up grimacing. "It's just such a big deal. I had never given any thought to running an institute previously."

"Well, I've always wanted to give the orders around here. If it was my way, it would be free days every day."

Clary laughed and Jace cupped a hand around her cheek. She leaned her face into it. "But we're both so young still. I'm only eighteen, and you're only nineteen. I don't live at the institute yet. I haven't even been a Shadowhunter for nearly as long as you and the others."

His gaze softened on her. "We don't have to take the position. They can ask somebody else."

"I feel like this is like the time when I got Heosphoros. I'm letting the position have power over me."

"It's okay to be afraid though. You're right, it is a big deal."

She flicked her eyes up to his and he smiled. "You don't seem that fazed by it."

He shrugged, a simple lift of one shoulder. "I don't mind whether we take it or not. I only care about you." Clary felt her insides melt, and her heartbeat pick up. "If you want it, we'll take it. If you don't, then we won't."

Clary leaned forward, tilting her head up to meet his lips with her own. It was just a brush of lips, the slightest touch. It wasn't meant to be a hungry kiss, begging for more, but one that told him she loved him and trusted him. She pulled away. "Let's do it," she said.

He raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. "I'm scared, but you're beside me, so I know I can do it. _We_ can do it. And we're getting married anyway, so I'll probably be moving in with you." His eyes flared with a bright gold light at the sound of their engagement. "And I'll train more if I have to. I want to prove to the Clave, and myself, and you that I can do this."

"You don't have to prove anything to me," he replied. "I already know everything you're capable of." She kissed him again, another feather touch of lips. But the kiss deepened quickly as he leant forward, closing the gap between them. He had her face in his hands, his fingers running into her hair. Her own hands were slipping over the tight muscles of his shoulders, spreading out across his chest, slipping down his stomach to rest at the hem of his shirt. She was gripping it; she could feel his muscles tensing, readying to slip it off.

There was a pounding at the door. "Jace! Clary!" Isabelle called from the other side of the door.

Clary and Jace broke apart. They were both breathing hard; Jace was shivering, his pupils blown wide. He growled in response.

The pounding increased. Isabelle still called out their names. Jace stalked to the door, tugging his shirt back down, and opened the door. Isabelle rolled her eyes at the sight of him. "Canoodling as usual, I see?" she said.

"What do you want, Iz?"

"Simon's home," was all she said but Clary didn't hear the rest of it. She pushed past Jace and Isabelle, ran down the corridor and into the kitchen.

He stood by the island, dressed in gear, talking to Magnus and Alec. He turned at the sound of the door opening, surprise written across his face. But then he was holding out his arms as Clary barrelled towards him, and flew her arms around his neck. He stumbled back slightly. He held her tightly, barely registering that Jace and Isabelle had entered the room shortly after.

Clary pulled away. "I didn't know you were coming home so soon?"

"I wanted to surprise you. Guess it worked," he chuckled.

Jace had silently come up behind them. They shook hands, slapping each other on the backs in manly hugs. Jace stepped back to stand beside Clary, placing a hand on her shoulder. She glanced up at him and grinned.

She rolled up onto her toes, whispering into his ear, "Should we tell of our engagement while everyone is here?"

His eyes shone like stars in the night sky as he nodded. Clary turned back to everyone, but she let Jace do the talking. "We have an announcement to make," he said, and everyone faced him with eyebrows raised. "We're getting married."

The room erupted with sound suddenly. Maryse stood in the doorway. She was shocked at first, but she came over and congratulated them.

But then the room was exploding for a different reason. The room shuddered, lightly at first, and then violently. Jace pulled Clary to him, holding her against him to protect her. He could feel her hands gripping his shirt, her face pressed into his chest. Around the room, he saw Simon clutch Isabelle, and Maryse stumbled for the island counter.

After a few seconds, the shaking came to a stop, but nobody moved. Clary only pulled away enough to peer up at Jace's face. His expression was unreadable to most people, but underneath his mask, Clary could see that he was shaken himself, unsure of what had just happened. She voiced the question anyway, "What was that?"

Jace glanced down at her, and then looked at everyone else around the room. They were all pale, nobody was sure of what to say.

Simon spoke up, "It felt like an Earthquake."

"It couldn't have been," Isabelle said from Simon's arms. "Right?"

It came again; Jace's arms tightened around Clary. The lights hanging from the ceiling were swinging. One fell, glass shattering into millions of pieces. Clary felt a stinging on her cheek where glass had been thrown at her. She flinched, but didn't cry out. The arms around her tightened.

When the shaking had come to a stop, Jace stepped forward. "We should go find out what's happening," he said and Maryse told him not to be stupid.

He started forward anyway and Clary snatched at his hand. "Jace, don't." He glanced back at her, his eyes narrowing in on the small cut on her face. She saw a muscle pop in his cheek. "I'll be right back."

He moved to the front of the institute, but he didn't go alone. They all followed shortly after him. They could see from the set of his shoulders that he wasn't impressed about being followed. But he didn't say anything.

Outside was quiet, almost normal, if it wasn't for the giant crack which ran from one side of the street to the steps of the institute. Isabelle gasped; everyone else was silent. Jace started forward before anyone could stop him. He knelt down beside the crack, peering into it curiously. Suddenly a hand reached out from the crack, darkened from dirt. It caught hold of Jace's shirt, tugged. Jace tried to get away. Clary and Alec started forward to help. But before they could reach him, Jace was pulled forward into the crack.

Clary screamed his name, but he was gone into the ground.

 **A/N: Hey guys, hope you like how this is going so far! Don't forget to review! :D**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Ready for another chapter? I know I am. I want to know what happens to Jace! It's a bit of a longer one today, but so much fun. I really like this one!**

 **As usual, review review review. It really encourages me to write faster, and while I'm on holidays from uni, I have more time to write!**

 **Hope you enjoy!**

Chapter 6

"We have to do something!" Clary snapped, and paced back and forth in the kitchen. While she paced, she twisted the Herondale ring on her finger, feeling the metal scrape with familiarity against her skin with each spin. The others watched her from their seats around the table, no one bothering to stop her from making more tiresome laps. "We can't just keep standing around here doing nothing!"

"We will, Clary. Don't worry," Alec said.

She looked at him then. "Is he all right though? Can you feel him?"

He got up from his chair then and caught at her shoulders, pinning her in place, preventing her from walking to the edge of the kitchen again. He nodded down at her. "Yes, I can feel him, and yes, he's okay. Maybe a little banged up, but nothing too bad."

She glanced up at him then, smiling appreciatively. It wasn't the same as having Jace back, but at least she knew that he was okay, that he wasn't… She couldn't even bring herself to think the word without feeling like she might throw up. "I just…" she started and broke off. "We've got to find him."

"And we will."

Clary glanced down at the Herondale ring again, her fingers were pressed lightly to the pattern of birds which were engraved into the metal. She sighed and took it off, her skin feeling bare and naked without the presence of it on her finger. She wondered how Jace felt to be without it, whether he was feeling like some part of himself was missing. But he had given it to her anyway, saying that he wanted her to have every physical part of himself, even when he wasn't there. Her heart still fluttered at the words. Curling her fingers around it, as it was nestled in her palm, she reached into her back pocket and withdrew her stele. She closed her eyes as she felt the familiar burn singe the back of her hand and the tracking rune was created.

She could see Jace, could see his location, as if she was looking over his shoulder. She let her feet start walking, letting the rune guide her to her fiancé. But a hand clasped down on Clary's shoulder, stopping her journey. She forced her eyes to snap open, still feeling the hum of the tracking rune in her veins. She glanced up. "What are you doing?" Simon asked.

"Finding Jace," she replied. "I know where he is." She opened her hand to show him the Herondale ring.

"You're not going alone."

"Fine, then come with me. But hurry up. I want my fiancé back."

He turned to the others who were all staring at them, waiting for their orders to move out. "We need weapons first, for just in case." She already had a dagger hidden inside her boot, but nodded her head, moving towards the stash of weapons in the kitchen. She grabbed two seraph blades, slipping them through her weapons belt, and hurried to grab Heosphoros from her room, feeling it settle comfortably on her hip.

When she returned, everyone was runed up and had several weapons connected to their own weapon belts. She traced a few quick runes of swiftness, surefootedness and silence to her upper arms, and nodded to them to say she was ready.

They ran through the backstreets of New York, keeping an eye out for any demons which might leap into their paths, and stop their journey to Jace. But none did. None stopped their journey to Jace and his kidnappers. Clary couldn't help but feel puzzled about this. Why wasn't anything stopping them? Surely the people who had taken Jace didn't want them just wandering in and taking him back? What would be the point of that?

The abandoned shed which Clary had seen Jace in through the tracking rune loomed before them. It was old, but still standing. It looked black on the outside, like it had once gone up in flames but hadn't taken much damage except for a little bit of charring. Outside, she turned back to the group which followed her, and they all looked back at her eagerly with anticipation. "This is it. He's in there." _I can almost feel him,_ she almost said, but kept that to herself. However, glancing at Alec, she knew she wasn't alone. He could feel his parabatai too. They both nodded at each other.

Clary extended her hand down to her hip, pulling Heosphoros free from the sheath, and holding it in ready hands. The others followed her, getting out their own weapons: Alec with his bow and arrows, Izzy with her whip, and Simon with a seraph blade. They all nodded at her.

She turned back and pressed a hand to the metal door of the shed. It was cold to the touch, but thankfully not locked, not even sealed. It swung open with ease, squeaking softly on its hinges. They all snuck through the door. It was dark inside; Clary quickly traced a rune to help her see in the dark. And in good time too.

The ravenor demons leapt out from nowhere. One snapped near her face, and she quickly brought her blade around in an arc and slammed it into its chest. It shrieked with agony before disappearing in a cloud of ash. So this was where all the demons had been hiding, she realised.

"Clary, behind you!" someone shouted, breaking her out of her thoughts. She whirled, feeling claws catch at her ankle but not caring as she brought the sword across its neck, successfully severing the head. Demon ichor splashed her arms and legs, burning through her gear. She barely gave herself a chance to watch the demon disappear and ignored the pain, before she was pushing herself further into the battle. There was so many of them, all crawling and growling at them, lunging at the shadowhunters, being sliced down by blades and whips, turning into ash as fast as they had arrived. Clary stabbed and retreated, sliced and backed away, grinned and panted when there was none left. She looked around at her friends. They were all slightly out of breath, faces red with exertion, all glancing around in case more demons appeared out of nowhere. Nobody seemed too badly hurt; Clary sighed in relief.

There was the sound of clapping behind her; the sound echoed and bounced off the tin walls. Clary spun around to face the newcomer, glaring at the man who was tall but wide in breadth of chest and shoulder, and greying on the head and face. His hair might have once been a light blonde colour. He was dressed in shadowhunter gear.

"Ah, that was most impressive," he said and grinned at them all, gaze sweeping across the small party. "I have always wanted to see the famous shadowhunters who helped win the Dark War in action."

"Who are you?" Alec demanded, stepping forward, an arrow ready in one hand, ready to be put to the string of his bow, and released into the chest of the man, if needed. "And where's Jace?"

The man smiled at him. It was a pleasant smile, as if nothing was wrong and he wasn't in the shed where she had tracked Jace to. "My name is Claudius Morgernstern. I was good friends with some people you might know and recognise."

Clary sucked in a breath. _Morgernstern._ It was a name she thought she would never have to hear again, and she was glad to forget it. As if awoken by the name, she thought she felt Heosphoros pulse in her hand. "You're a Morgernstern?" she breathed.

The man turned his sharp gaze to her. His eyes were a soft green colour, she realised, the colour of the ocean. He smiled. "Yes. Hello, Clarissa." He then added, "my niece."

Clary felt like she was going to be sick or pass out. "Niece?" she said, brow furrowing in confusion. How was that possible?

"Hmm," he hummed. "I was most saddened to hear of the tragic death of my beloved brother, Valentine. But even more saddened to learn I had lost two people in such a short space of time. His son was dead too, I got told. My nephew was gone."

"Valentine didn't have a brother," she spat. "I would know."

He laughed, a soft tinkling sound that seemed to spread through the entire room. Clary glanced behind her, remembering that she wasn't alone here. The others looked just as shocked. "Would you though? Would you know who I am when you didn't even know about shadowhunters for most of your life? When you had no clue about who your father was?" He laughed again, as if this whole situation was amusing to him. "By the angel, you even thought Jace was your brother." She flinched at the memory. It was not a time she liked to remember fondly, trying to push her romantic and sexual feelings for Jace away to replace them with sibling love. The Herondale ring, back on her finger, reminded her how far they had come. "So, forgive me, Clarissa, if I do not believe how you would know about our family."

"What about us then?" Clary glanced over her shoulder again to see Isabelle talking. "Alec and I have been shadowhunters our whole lives, and we had no idea Valentine had any siblings."

"Again," Claudius shrugged. "Ignorant and had no idea what was happening beneath your noses." He sighed, and it was a sad, pained sound. "But, my brother never spoke of me much, or rather at all. Neither did his demon son. I was seen as a disappointment to the family, not one to support my family's ways of doing things. I believe they were right in their beliefs, but not the way they carried them out. I stood back and let them do their own thing. I didn't want to get involved. But now, you have given me no choice. You killed my only family and now, I want blood for blood."

 _Blood for blood. One body for a body._ She glanced up at him, feeling the dawning realisation of the decision she was faced to make. _Jace,_ she thought, _I'm sorry._ She stepped forward, feeling the weight of Claudius's gaze settle on her. He looked amused, as if he knew what she was about to do. "Okay," she said. "Okay. Blood for blood. Take my blood, but let Jace and the others go."

"No!" a voice roared and Clary whirled, eyes wide. Her heart was hammering in her chest. She would recognise that voice anywhere, as if it were own. "Clary, don't you dare."

"Jace?" Clary forgot everything else around her, and was focused solely on the sound of Jace's voice.

"It's me, baby. It's me," he confirmed, and his voice cracked slightly. Hot tears welled up in Clary's eyes, threatening to spill over onto her flaming cheeks. She pushed them away with frustration. She stepped in the direction where she thought his voice had come from, raising a hand. She couldn't see him, and it was killing her. She couldn't see if he was okay. There was darkness everywhere, filling the corners and edges of the shed. He could be anywhere. "Don't move, Clary. Don't come any closer."

"But Jace…" she whispered. "Where are you? Are you all right?" Her own voice cracked, and the tears were back. This time, they spilled over. She needed him, wanted him back more than anything else in the world. She remembered the way she had watched Jace die on the beach in Idris, and how she had asked Raziel to bring him back, even when she could have had anything else in the world. She would do that again, if she had to.

"I'm all right, Clary. I'm okay. Just get yourself and the others out. Leave me."

She paled in horror. "Jace, no…"

"Clary," he sighed, his voice filled with pain. "Please. I'll find a way back to you, I promise. Just go, get out of here. He wants blood. Let him have mine."

Clary squinted through the darkness, trying to find him. The rune wasn't helping much. She thought she saw the glint of his gold eyes though, trained on her with determination to save her. "I'm sorry, Jace. I can't let you do that. I love you too much." She turned away to face Claudius again, hearing his angry protest at her back. "Do it. Take me. Let him go."

Claudius grinned. "Ah, yes. My brother told me all about your courage and how you would do anything to save those you love. It's inspiring and rather… adorable." He flicked a hand and there was a loud groaning sound and the flash as a ward dropped.

Jace stumbled out into the light. He was bruised and bloodied. One eye was almost swollen shut and his bottom lip was cracked open. He walked with a slight limp, too. Clary's breath caught in her throat at the sight of him. Their eyes immediately made contact, and then she was running towards him. He held his arms out to her, ready to catch her.

But she never made it to him. There was yet another ward between them, and Clary hit it with a shocking force. It sent her hurtling backwards, her head cracking into the ground. She cried out as stars burst in front of her eyes, and the world spun. Blackness crawled on the edge of her vision.

"Clary!" Jace screamed, but she pushed herself up, ignoring the way she felt like she would fall backwards again at any moment. She staggered to her feet, but her legs buckled. Somebody caught her. She glanced up into the face of Simon, and tried to smile, but she only showed her pain and wooziness. She could feel blood knotting her hair at the back of her head.

"How very touching," Claudius said, and he clapped his hands with joy. "It is very interesting to see the famous love story of Clarissa Fairchild and Jonathon Morgernstern in person." He was silent for a moment. Clary was having a hard trouble staying upright, even with the help of Simon's arms. The room was not staying in focus. "No, I think I've changed my mind on what I want."

"And what would that be?" Alec growled, his eyes flickering to his parabatai, a question written in his eyes. Jace nodded to say he was all right, but his eyes went back to Clary, concern filling them.

"Both the girl and her precious lover, is what I want. After all, Clarissa is my blood, and as much as Jace tells me otherwise to protect her, I know it was her hands which killed my kin." His smile twisted up into a wicked grin. "Let me keep Clarissa Fairchild and Jonathon Morgernstern, and you can all go in one piece."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"No! Leave Clary out of this," Jace exclaimed and stepped as close as he could to the ward without touching it. His face was a mask of pure fury as he stared Claudius Morgenstern down. If looks could kill, Valentine's brother would have gone up in flames.

"Jace," Clary whispered, the words were barely able to slip past her lips. She was incredibly pale, and she was shaking violently. Darkness threatened to swallow her whole. She forced herself to stay awake for a little longer, just long enough to save Jace and everyone else. Jace's eyes immediately fell on her at the sound of her soft voice; his face paled to match her weak complexion. "Jace," she said again, licking her lips. "It's all right."

His eyes were like fire as he watched her, his gaze flickering between her and their enemy. "No, it's not, Clary. You need to get out of here. You need _iratzes,_ and Magnus."

She tried to shake her head, but it only resulted in the world spinning faster around her. She cried out softly before biting down on her lip. She felt her teeth pierce the flesh, and blood rise to the surface. Jace wanted nothing more than to crush Claudius Morgenstern for ever touching his fiancé and harming her. He hated seeing her like this: clutching at her head with both hands as silent tears crawled down her face.

"Alec," Jace finally said. His parabatai turned from surveying the current situation to look at his brother. "You need to get out of here. Clary and I will stay. It's the only way." It killed him to speak the words, to agree to putting Clary in more danger than she was already in. But… "She won't go any other way."

Alec's blue eyes were torn between staying and fighting, and obliging his parabatai's wishes. He knew Jace was right though. He surveyed their situation. His eyes were flickering around everyone: Isabelle with her whip uncoiled and dangling beside her, she had a nasty cut above one eyebrow; Simon with his arms around Clary, the only thing supporting her; his parabatai trapped behind an invisible barrier; and lastly, Claudius who was only grinning with amusement and victory. He growled. Where was Magnus when he needed him? With a sigh, Alec nodded reluctantly, already beginning to withdraw.

Claudius' grin widened. "Is that a yes? Do I have the honour of keeping my niece and her boy toy?"

Jace growled. "We might be staying, but this does not mean we will be happy prisoners. I'm only doing what I have to do for my fiancé."

"Oh, fiancé is it now? My brother would have been most happy to hear of that. But nevertheless, I don't really care about anyone else's happiness but my own. I only care about revenge. Blood for blood, an eye for an eye. I plan to do that while I have some fun."

"You're sick," Simon spat, glaring up at the man who was supposably his best friend's uncle.

Claudius turned his sea green eyes on Simon. "Didn't you used to be a rat or a filthy vampire or something?" Simon squared his shoulders defiantly but never got a chance to speak again. "Never mind, I don't really care what or who you are. I just want you gone, all of you."

Claudius flicked his fingers and suddenly Jace and Clary were alone in the room with Claudius Morgenstern. Without the support of Simon's arms, Clary pitched forward. Her knees crashed to the ground, bruising the flesh and jolting her teeth together. Jace shot forward, the ward was gone, and caught her before she could fall any further. His arms were strong around her, holding her to him, and stopping her from falling. She could feel his ragged breath on the top of her head, and could hear his heart beating in her ear as she leaned into him. Nobody else's heart beat like Jace's. She let herself focus on this to remain conscious.

Clary clutched Jace's shirt in one hand, holding onto it like it was a life support. He must have felt her move because the muscles in his arms strained as he held her closer. "Jace…" she whispered.

He glanced down at her, eyes full of worry. "Don't talk, Clary. Save your strength."

She pushed at him weakly. "You… should go. No… you need to go… Leave… me…"

His arms tightened around her. "Never, Clary. You know I would never do that. I'm here until the end."

Clary knew her attempts to argue with him were futile, so she stayed quiet. Jace, on the other hand, turned his attention to Claudius. His gaze was like daggers. "Where did they go?" Jace demanded from on his knees. "Where did you send the others?"

"Back to the institute," Claudius drawled as if it was perfectly reasonable. "I was growing rather sick of your friends and wanted to be left alone to do my duty."

Clary could hear Jace's heart beat picking up with anger. She tightened her grip on his shirt until her knuckles were white. She didn't want him doing anything stupid. "You're a warlock, aren't you? Controlling all your wards, sending people to random places? Causing earthquakes in one place?"

"I would call you clever, Mr Herondale, but I haven't exactly hid it. I thought it was pretty obvious what I am. I'm like your friend, Magnus Bane."

"Don't talk about Magnus," he snapped, protecting the warlock for Alec's sake. "Why do you wear shadowhunter gear then?"

"Because, Jace Herondale, today I am representing my brother and his son. They were shadowhunters, and I am meeting their revenge." He sniffed. "Anyway, enough chit-chat. I want blood." His eyes turned to his niece. "You killed my brother and nephew. You can go first."

Somehow, with Clary still securely in his arms, Jace shifted so his body was in front of hers, shielding her from Claudius' gaze. "No, take me first. Or, at least, let me _iratze_ her first." At Claudius' confused expression, Jace added, "Wouldn't it be better for your victim to be more aware of your actions? To let them know how unhappy you are with them before you deliver the killing blow?"

Claudius was clearly very confused. "I had never thought about that," he said. "I do rather like that idea though. Very amusing. You have a dark heart, Jace Herondale. How long did my brother raise you again? Obviously had a lasting impression."

Clary felt Jace tense beside her, his arms turning to iron around her. She cursed Claudius and his words. Jace had taken so long to forget about his father and the impression he thought Valentine had had on him. It had taken him so long to finally open up to her, to trust himself around her. She was scared they would be back at the beginning.

With these thoughts, Clary felt an anger building, starting from the tips of her toes, travelling to the ends of her fingers, and right into each strand of hair on the top of her head. It shook her more violently than her concussion did. Jace seemed to draw away from her slightly to peer down at her. His brow was furrowed in confusion as he watched her. The anger took over her dizziness and the darkness as she growled and lunged forward. She barely caught herself as she landed against her uncle. She glared up at him, watching as his face swung in front of hers.

"You are a sick monster. You deserve to go to Hell like my father and brother." She hacked back some spit into the back of her throat and let it fly into his face. She picked up her foot, and brought her heel down on top of his toes, just like Jace had taught her to do. She felt one of the bones in his foot crack and he screamed in agony and rage, and clawed at her. He clipped her under the chin, sending a shock of pain travelling through her head which seemed to wake her up more. She stumbled backwards and Jace caught her by her shoulders. She leant against him, drawing strength from her resting position.

"You stupid, stupid girl. You do not need an _iratze_ at all. It is you who deserves to go to Hell, not I. You both have dark hearts, a good match for you both. How dare you speak of your father and brother in such disrespectful ways."

"They do not deserve my respect. They killed hundreds of people without mercy. They brought war." She wasn't sure how she was still speaking. She wasn't standing, not on her own. But adrenaline hummed through her body. She wasn't ready to give up, not yet.

He laughed. "I wouldn't speak of your brother so harshly quite yet, girlie. He's not entirely gone, like you think he is."

Jace stiffened. "What do you mean?"

With another flick of his finger, the shed was ablaze in light. Clary could see everything in the shed, from the leftover oil containers, to the prison where Jace had been stashed, to a second captive area opposite Jace's which held…

"No..." Clary whispered and she leant against Jace more. His arms tightened around her as he inhaled sharply behind her. "That's not possible…"

In a corner of the shed, a skinny man a year or two older than her sat with knees drawn up, his face buried into them. His hair was blonde, shaggy and long like it was overdue for a cut, and his skin was pale like hers. Although, she didn't think it was just pale from biology.

"Jonathon," Claudius snapped. There was no love in his voice. Strange for a man who had just accused his niece of killing him and wanting blood for blood. The boy forced his head up and Clary was stunned by his eyes. She had expected to see the familiar black eyes which her brother had once had when he was Sebastian. But they were not. They were a bright green, as green as her own. It was like looking into a reflection in a mirror. He was skinny too, she realised. Dark shadowing underneath his cheekbones, and his clothes hung off his small but tall frame. "Say hello to your sister, Clarissa."

Jonathon's eyes widened as he realised who he was staring at. He drew in a harsh breath, the sound echoing around them. Clary couldn't tear her eyes away from him. "Uncle. What are they doing here?"

"I need blood, my nephew. It was she who spilled your blood and your father's. I need blood to right the wrongs she committed."

Jonathon shook his head. His eyes were haunted with memories of a past life he wanted to forget. "No, Uncle, you mustn't."

Claudius was growing irritated, and he turned to face his nephew. His face showed was red and creased with anger. "Don't you dare tell me what to do. You have no power anymore, Jonathon. You are a husk of your original self." Clary watched with fuzzy eyes as the man who looked like her brother retreated further in on himself at their uncle's cruel words.

Clary surprised herself when words once again burst from her mouth. It was like she had no filter. "Don't talk to him like that. Leave him alone."

She struggled to push herself away and out of Jace's embrace, but Jace was one step ahead of her. She felt his fingers at her hip, heard the scrape as a seraph blade was pulled free from her weapons belt, and felt the support of his arms leave her as he sprang into action, blade at the ready in front of him. Clary crashed to her hands and knees, unable to support her own weight as the room was still spinning around her.

Jace charged ahead, swinging the blade towards Claudius's head. The warlock gasped and ducked, and the blade went soaring over the space where the man's neck had once been. The warlock, with a racing speed was suddenly behind Jace, his arms around the golden boy's shoulders. Somehow, and Clary wasn't sure when it happened, but the blade was in Claudius' hands. She screamed at her uncle to stop, to spare Jace and take her life instead. But he took the blade in his hands and grinned.

"Goodbye, Jonathon Herondale. It was nice to meet you. Say hello to your father for me, your _real_ father, Valentine Morgenstern."

The warlock thought he had it in the bag, and he shoved the sword towards Jace's chest. At the last second, Jace dived. He grunted in pain as he felt the sword wedge into his shoulder. Jace pulled it free as he spun, feeling blood spread from his shoulder and run down his arm like water.

Claudius was eyeing him warily, waiting for the next strike. But there was a sound outside, dragging his attention to the door of the shed. He sneered. "Your friends seem to have come back." And then he stopped again, and Clary swore she saw a look of fear cross his face. It was gone before she could confirm it though. "I must go now. When you're ready to talk and die, come find me. But remember this, I have your brother, and he's the brother you have always wanted, Clarissa. Goodbye Clarissa Morgenstern and Jace Herondale."

He snapped his fingers and he and Jonathon disappeared. Clary and Jace were left alone; Clary kneeling on the cold, concrete floor and Jace standing, holding the seraph blade in loose fingers. A moment later, the doors burst open and Alec, Isabelle and Simon were standing there with weapons ready. Behind them, Magnus had his hands alight with magic. They all scanned the surroundings, no doubt looking for Claudius Morgenstern but only seeing an empty shed with a couple of shadowhunters.

Clary's head was swinging wildly as the adrenaline slowly released from her body. "Jace…" she murmured, feeling her body pitch forward. A pair of hands caught at her shoulders. "I can't…"

The world went black as arms gathered her, and held her to a warm body. "It's okay, Clary. It's all right. We're safe. You don't have to be brave anymore. I've got you."

And with that, Clary let the darkness consume her. She was only vaguely aware of being lifted, and being carried out. She knew that Jace's heart was beating in her ear, soothing her into the darkness which had waited for far too long.

Jace was safe, the others were safe, she was safe. But her brother… Jonathon… he wasn't safe. His green eyes shone in the darkness above her, and so did the memory the demon in Edom had showed her, when she had had a brother that wasn't Sebastian, but Jonathon. The memory was something she wanted to have, and maybe, she someday would.

 **A/N: Woah, what a turn of events. Did you see that coming?**

 **Let me know in the comments on what you want to happen next and if you're liking this story!**

 **I'm also thinking of revisiting some of my old fanfictions which I haven't touched in years. Thoughts?**


	8. Chapter 8

Jace Herondale sat in the chair beside Clary's bedside, tightly clutching her small hand. He held it in both hands, rubbing it lightly. He had cradled in her arms, making sure to support her head, and carried her back to the institute, despite the pain which gnawed at his shoulder. He had refused any _iratzes_ until Alec had persuaded him once Clary was safe in the shadowhunters' home. Nobody could ensure her safety like he could.

Alec hovered behind him in the infirmary. His gaze was flickering between the pale girl on the bed and his parabatai who was beginning to look paler the longer it took Clary to wake. Jace hadn't slept in the three days since he had been rescued from Valentine's brother's captive, and he doubted he would have slept before they had reached him. But no matter how many times Alec had tried to encourage Jace to get some rest, Jace had snapped at him and told him to leave him alone.

The room was silent. Intoxicating, Alec thought, as he stood there in a way that made him feel like he was all alone. "I know what you're thinking, and it's not your fault."

Jace sighed and rubbed at his eyes. Alec noticed his parabatai was never breaking contact with his fiancé. Even when he went to rub at his eyes, he still kept one hand connected to her the entire time. "Unfortunately, Alec, it is my fault. If I had been more careful, then none of this would have happened. I should never had gone near that crack in the ground. It's my fault Clary got hurt."

"But you know Clary would protect you in any situation, even one that wasn't your fault. She loves you, and you love her."

Jace glanced behind him at his brother and smiled. "I know. Which is why, I'm going to sit here until she wakes up, so I can tell her how much I love her. I never say it enough." He squeezed Clary's hand as if she could possibly hear him.

"But you don't have to always say the words. They just know, and I know Clary knows without you saying the words all the time."

He glanced at Alec again in surprise. "You're a good brother and friend, Alec."

Suddenly Jace was gasping and sitting forward in his chair, right on the edge. He might as well have not had the chair. There had been a pressure against his hand, the smallest tightening of fingers. It was so small that he might have imagined it. But something told him that it was real.

"Clary?" he said with a sound of hope in his voice that Alec had never heard from Jace before.

The girl's eyes fluttered open with a small intake of breath. Her eyes wandered around the room, confusion flickering across her expressions as she tried to figure out where she was. Eventually her eyes were taking in the two figures in the room. She saw Alec and smiled at him and then… "Jace…?"

While still holding onto her hand with one hand, Jace brought his spare up to cut up her cheek, brushing her red hair back from her face. "Hi baby," he said. He was leaning so close to Clary that she could see the different colours flecked through his irises and could see her reflection in the glassy state of his eyes. She looked pale and dirty with bruises still fading along her jawline and a bandage wrapped around her head. She touched it briefly, feeling a dull ache still ring around her skull. His gaze followed her action and she hastily put her head back into her lap, before thinking twice, and cradling his hand in hers. "How are you feeling?"

He was peering at her with such concern, and she could see the longing in his stance to want to protect her. Over Jace's shoulder, she saw Alec leave the room to give them some privacy. Their eyes caught as Alec turned to close the door behind him, and he smiled warmly in a way that she knew was relief and spoke in a silent way that he was glad to see her awake.

She turned her attention back to Jace. "I'm okay," she replied, but Jace gave her a long that said she wasn't getting away with that, and she sighed. "I'm fine, really. Just a little bit of a headache."

He turned to the table beside the bed and handed her a glass of water. "That will help a bit. You're probably just a bit dehydrated."

She took the glass from him and chugged down the cold liquid appreciatively. "Better?" he asked, and she nodded. She felt much better.

"How long have I been out for?"

"Three days. But you're all right now. You're safe. I'm safe. Everything is going to be fine." He smiled at her and leant forward to kiss her gently, holding her lips between his with so much care like he thought she might break if he kissed her too hard.

He took the now empty glass from her and placed it back on the bedside table. She let the silence between them allow her a window of opportunity to sort through the last memories which hung in her mind. They were fuzzy as she remembered the blackness which had hung around in her mind for a large amount of the time, but she still remembered. She remembered the earthquakes which had started it all, and Jace disappearing into the earth, her evil uncle, and…

She stiffened and Jace glanced up at her immediately. He saw her stiff expressions and body language and frowned. He tapped the back of her hand lightly, drawing her gaze back to him. "Are you okay?" he asked cautiously.

She nodded slowly. "I am," she said, "but my brother isn't."

He sighed in a way that told her he had also been thinking about the same thing not too long ago. "I know…" he said. "It's all I've been thinking about between my worry for you."

She looked up at him frantically. "Jace, we can't leave him. We have to help him. He looked so damaged, so broken and skinny…" she trailed off and shuddered as the images resurfaced in her mind. Jace squeezed her hand reassuringly.

His gold eyes were searching her face intensely, assessing the emotions he found there. His fingers were no longer dancing across her skin like they had been just a minute ago. He just held onto her hand tightly, his attention now on other matters. "But what if he's still the same person? We could send ourselves back to square one, where we wake each morning to more deaths."

She thought about it. It was all she could think about. But there was one memory which plagued her, and told her what she thought was the truth. "No… I don't think he is…"

His eyes found hers. "How do you know?"

"Did you see his eyes? They weren't black like they used to be and what I expected them to be. They were green, like mine. It was like I was back in that dream I saw in Edom with the perfect image of the perfect brother that I never got to have."

Jace sucked his lower lip in between his teeth as he thought. She watched as the skin turned white with the action. "You're right," he said after a moment. "So, we'll go after him. We'll talk to the others and make a plan."

Clary nodded, and then there was a knock at the door. They both looked up as Magnus swirled into the room, looking as confident as ever. He raised an eyebrow at the couple. "What a surprise. You're not canoodling the second you get. I'm impressed."

Clary just rolled her eyes. "We're capable of more than just making out, you know?"

"I'm still waiting to be proven." Jace grinned. "Anyway, Alec told me our very own sleeping beauty was awake at last. I'm here to check up on you."

He came over to the bed and hovered over her, his hands lighting up with blue flames. Jace pulled back slightly to let Magnus work, but didn't let go of Clary's hand. Clary stilled and let her eyes close he worked his magic.

"What's going on?" Jace's voice suddenly broke through the silence, and Clary's eyes flew open. She glanced up at Jace who was frowning in Magnus's direction. Her eyes then travelled to the warlock who wasn't showing any emotion.

Magnus just said, "I need to talk to Clary alone."

Now _she_ was frowning, her gaze flickering between the two men. "Why?" she asked. "What's so important that Jace can't hear it?"

"Because, Biscuit, it's not my information to share. It's yours."

"What information?" Clary demanded.

"In a second, Biscuit," he said and then turned to Jace. "Out."

Jace looked questioningly at Clary, raising an eyebrow at her, silent asking if she was okay. She nodded, and with a quick kiss to her lips, he shuffled out of the room, closing the door with a soft click. And that was when the conversation between Magnus and Clary began.

 **A/N: A shorter chapter than the last couple, and nothing that exciting happens. But this chapter was more of a follow up from the last and a set up for future events. Hope you liked it all the same! I'll be uploading again real soon.**

 **Maybe let me know in the reviews what you think is coming up?**

 **See you all again soon xx**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey!**

 **Sorry its been so long. I was planning to update earlier than this, but I've been on holidays and then band camp, and have been busy getting ready for my next uni semester. But never fear, here comes a new chapter!**

 **Don't forget to review! Thank you so much to those who have taken out the time to! Love you! Xx**

Chapter 9

It was going to be official today. She stood in front of the mirror in Jace's room, twisting and turning from side to side, admiring the work Izzy had put into her for the big day. The dress, though, had been Clary's choice, a choice she was rather proud of; although, typical Magnus said it didn't have enough sparkles. It was just a simple black dress which fell to the floor, hiding her small black heels, and with sleeves which ended at her elbows. It was tight at the waist, with a skirt which fluttered out around her slightly. And, then, of course, there was everything else about her appearance, all done by Izzy because Izzy could never help herself. Her hair had been left down in the way Jace liked, but Izzy had managed to control her wild locks, and had tightened each of her curls. She could feel them dancing around her face whenever she turned her head. And her makeup was tasteful but not over done, keeping it so Clary still looked like Clary.

A pair of warm arms wrapped around her torso from behind, and when she glanced up, a familiar pair of golden eyes were staring into her green ones. Jace was taking her appearance in with his usual stride, his eyes wandering from the tips of her toes, up over her hips and finally to her face. Light sparked in his eyes as they flicked over her body. And then he lowered his lips to her shoulder, and she thought she could feel his kiss through the fabric of her dress. Tingles raced up her body.

"Stop fussing," he said finally. "You look beautiful."

She turned slowly in his arms, forcing him to pull back slightly. His hands settled against her back, warming her bare spine. His face was so close to hers that she could have just leant forward and kissed him. By the time she was done thinking the thought, she was tilting her head back and capturing his lips in hers. She heard and felt him inhale with surprise. But within half a second, he was kissing her back. They weren't hungry, passionate kisses which spoke of wanting to throw each other's clothes off. They were ones of love, that said they loved each other, that they trusted the other person, and they didn't want anyone else in their life.

Clary was the first one to pull away. Jace pouted over the loss of Clary's lips, and she laughed. Okay, so maybe a bit of heat _had_ been building after the kisses of adoration. She pulled back slightly to take Jace in. He was dressed in a black suit which emphasised his broad shoulders, his narrow waist, and the swell of muscle in his biceps. The cuff links of his suit jacket were decorated with gold runes. "You don't look too bad yourself," she said. "Very handsome."

He shrugged like it had taken no effort. "I know," he replied, and shrugged. Clary slapped him on the arm, and he chuckled. She loved the sound of his laugh. It never ceased to amaze her. She could listen to it on repeat for hours. She still couldn't believe he would never have laughed with anyone like that, only a couple of years ago. And yet, here he was, laughing with her like the sound came naturally to him. She smiled up at him, and he must have caught something in her expression because his own facial expression softened. His golden eyes turned to honey. Jace reached forward and captured a loose strand of hair, brushing it behind her ear, and letting his hand linger against her cheek. She leaned into his touch, closing her eyes briefly. "We should probably get going soon. I have a feeling Izzy will be barging in here any second."

Clary opened her eyes as Jace reluctantly started to pull away. But Clary wasn't ready to move just yet. She stepped forward, and reached out with a hand, clasping his before he could leave the safety and privacy of the room. "Wait, just a second," she said, and he glanced down at their entwined hands, and then back up to her face with surprise. He raised an eyebrow. "Come here." Jace smiled, and pulled her close again. She rested her hands against his chest, while his rested on her hips. Beneath her fingers, his heart beat its familiar rhythm. Unlike her racing pulse, his was calm. He tipped his head down to look at her as he waited patiently for her to spit her words out. "I have no idea where to begin with this…" she started.

"You can tell me anything, you know that."

Clary took a big breath in to prepare herself; Jace waited patiently. What if he said no? "Well… today we become the new heads of the New York Institute, and I'll be moving into the institute anyway, much to my mum's dismay… And I know I already have a room of my own here, but that's not what I want or where I want to be."

Jace's breath hitched, and his eyes blazed with a light that was brighter than the brightest star in the night sky. Clary blushed under his intense gaze. "Are you asking what I think you're asking?"

"I think I am, B2," she replied, and when he looked at her with such a lost and puzzled expression, she couldn't help but laugh. She shook her head with a small, amused smile. "Never mind. Yes, I'm asking if I can move in with you."

Suddenly Clary was being swept up into Jace's arms. Her arms wound around his neck, fingers tangling in the hair at the nape at the back of his neck, as his arms crushed her to him and his mouth fell against hers. He kissed her with such force that she stumbled slightly. But Jace, being the best Shadowhunter of his generation, caught them after a quick stumble. While the kisses before had been soft and loving, these were feverish and passionate.

He pulled back abruptly, and momentarily, Clary was surprised to see the amount of emotion on his face at one time. She had always been able to read him well, had always been the one person he showed the most of himself to. But even still, nothing could compare to this moment. It was almost better than the moment when he had asked her to marry him and she had said yes. And then _he_ was saying yes. "Yes, Clary, yes. It will always be yes. I can't imagine anything more perfect."

He kissed her again, but this time, it was a short and sweet one. "Be prepared for a lot of clothes in your wardrobe then, and possibly even a bit of mess in your impeccable room," Clary joked.

But Jace shook his head seriously. "I don't care. I love you, Clarissa Fairchild."

She reached up to kiss him again. He knew how she felt about him that sometimes a kiss was all that was needed. But before her lips could reach his, there was a knock at the door. They both sighed, and Jace reluctantly moved to the door. While Jace opened the door to reveal the waiting person, Clary glanced down at herself, checking herself one more time to make sure she was ready to go. She grabbed her clutch from the bed, finding Alec on the other side of the door. He had been told by a grumpy Isabelle to come and get them.

Jace turned back to Clary, extending a hand out for her to take. She slipped her hand into his, feeling the familiar way his fingers wrapped around hers, but feeling the cold band of the Herondale ring bite into her flesh. She smiled at the thought of it sitting on her hand. She let Jace and Alec lead her down the hallway, and through the portal which would take them to Idris.

***PAGE BREAK***

Simon Lewis sat in the front pew, watching with pride as his best friend kneeled beside her fiancée, hand in hand, in front of Jia Penhallow. Izzy was beside him, clutching his hand tightly. He glanced out of the corner of his eye, and laughed internally to himself at how excited she looked. Her eyes were lit up with an internal fire, her lips locked into a grin. She was so beautiful, he thought. A girl he had no idea how he had won the heart of.

Izzy must have felt his gaze on her because she glanced over at him, and if it was possible, her grin widened. Her attention was only on him momentarily though, before it was being dragged back up to the event happening before them.

It felt weird to be back in Idris when he wasn't training. He felt like he wasn't meant to be here, but that he was meant to be in the Academy, battering away at a poor dummy which had died so many times. He felt like he should have a blade in his hand, bouncing on the balls of his feet with built up energy. His knee jiggled up and down with anticipation the more he thought about it. He could feel the energy building as he just sat there.

Isabelle glanced at him again, and placed a hand on his bouncing knee. He wasn't sure whether she made the move because she knew what he was thinking, or whether she thought it was just from the excitement. Either way, he enjoyed the extra touch between them. Touches were an important way of their communication.

Simon glanced around him as he felt the energy slowly drain away with Isabelle's touch. There was so many people there, some he recognised and some he didn't. There was the New Yorkers of course—him, Izzy, Alec, and Magnus. Clary's mother, Jocelyn, was also there, her hand wrapped securely around Luke's. Tears were streaming wildly down her cheeks. He remembered a time where they had both been like parents to him, when he and Clary had just been children, playing kiss-and-tag games. They were still like parents to him, more like parents than his real mother. He loved them dearly. His eyes turned to the next couple, Jem and Tessa. He marvelled over the love they had, a love that had survived for centuries, and was still just as strong. And beside them, was an eager pair of young Shadowhunters from LA, Emma and Julian. They looked like the perfect team, the perfect pair of _parabatai._ And then everyone else was official clave members, Robert and Maryse Lightwood included.

 _Parabatai._ Simon paused over the word. To be more than just best friends, or even more than just almost siblings. But to be a pair, a team that worked better than any other couple. He glanced up at his best friend again. Clary glanced over her shoulder at him, and grinned. He grinned back. And then an idea was sparking in his head like a lightbulb coming on in a very dark room.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Jia Penhallow began, and Simon brought his attention back to where Jace and Clary were still hand in hand. "We welcome you here today to witness the titling of the new heads of the New York Institute. While they may be young, they have faced many hardships and challenges, and have proven their loyalty to the Clave during the battle against Valentine and Jonathon Morgenstern." Simon saw Clary flinch at the sound of the Dark War, and her brother and father. Jace's hand tightened around Clary's, and she glanced at him with gratitude. "Please join me in welcoming, Jace Herondale and Clarissa Fairchild, the new heads of the New York Institute."

***PAGE BREAK***

Clary was feeling exhausted by the time she had made the rounds and received everyone's congratulations and well wishes. She spotted Jace on the other side of the room, in deep conversation with Jem Carstairs. He looked so handsome with his hair falling into his face as he had his head tipped in conversation.

She started towards him, navigating through the busy crowd when a figure stepped in front of her. She glanced up into the familiar eyes of her best friend. "Simon!" she cried and flung her arms around him. He hugged her back, whispering his congratulations. She pulled back and then frowned at his expression. "What's wrong? Why are you sweating so much?"

"Because," he squeaked, which made Clary raise her eyebrow more. "Will you be my _parabatai?_ "

***PAGE BREAK***

They walked side by side, hands touching in the space between them, down the hallway of the institute. Clary kept sneaking glances at Jace as they walked. He looked at ease, comfortable in his new position as the head of the institute.

"You're staring at me again," he murmured and smiled. "Am I so attractive you can't keep your eyes off me?"

"Can I stay with you tonight?" She asked as they had finally made it to his door.

The mischievous glint in his eyes softened at her words. "I thought you were moving in with me anyway?"

"Well, yeah, but I didn't know if it was official yet."

"It can be official whenever you want it to be," he replied.

She glanced down at their hands, and stepped forward so she was closer to him. She let her head fall onto his chest, and let out a tired sigh. "I want to stay with you."

He didn't say anything, just pushed the door open and led her inside. He collapsed onto his bed in an instant, not bothering to take his tux or shoes off. She perched beside him and ran a hand through his blonde hair. He made an un-Jace-like sound, something between a sigh and purr. She laughed.

"Simon asked me to be his _parabatai,"_ Clary said into the silence.

Jace opened his eyes but didn't move. He glanced up at her. "What did you say?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, of course. He's my best friend, like a brother to me. I would be stupid to say no."

He reached up and took the hand that was still rummaging around in his hair. He brought it to his mouth, and kissed her knuckles. "I'm glad. Having a _parabatai_ is one of the best things you can ever do. I don't know where I would be without Alec."

"I know," she murmured. "The only thing I could think about when he asked me was you and Alec, and the bond you two have."

He smiled up at her, and yawned. "Do you need a shirt to sleep in?" She glanced down at her dress, and nodded.

In a shirt which smelled of Jace's soap and mint, she slipped under the covers and curled into her bodyguard. She sighed contently, felt him turn his head and kiss the top of her head. She tumbled into a world full of dreams, just like she was Alice falling into a rabbit hole. She only just heard Jace murmur goodnight to her, but was too far gone to reply. She smiled the entire time she slept.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Please raise your glasses in a toast towards Clary and Jace in the hopes they have a happy married life," Isabelle said, wrapping up her speech, and raising her flute of sparkling champagne into the air. All around her, people applauded and cheered, and raised their glasses alongside her before taking a sip of the bubbly content.

Jace, after watching everyone raise their glasses to him and Clary, turned to the waiting girl who was curled into his side, and captured her lips in his. Clary's cheeks immediately went up in flames, doused in an internal fire as Jace kissed her slow and passionately. It was just a simple kiss, nothing which provoked a heat of a different reason. But she still felt embarrassed. Kissing in front of company, particularly the ones they loved, made Clary feel uncomfortable, especially when Jace got carried away, which he usually did. As the couple brought their mouths together, the crowd's cheering escalated into an almost deafening roar.

Clary pulled away first, but stayed within the circle of Jace's arms. She glanced up into his face, and found a proud, exciting, admiring expression waiting for her openly. She didn't even think it would be just her to see it, but everyone. He had his face tipped down to look at her, and he was grinning, just wide enough that the chip in his tooth was showing. She had never seen anything more beautiful. She couldn't help but grin back, mirroring his expressions. She loved him, she loved him more than she thought was possible. And every day, that love grew and grew, and she thought that surely, one day, her heart would shatter because it wouldn't be able to expand anymore. But then, each day with the expansion of her heart, she was surprised by the amount of love it could fit.

Clary rose up onto the tips of her toes, and pressed her lips to the warm flesh of his cheek. She could smell his cologne, a present she had gotten him last year for his birthday. There wasn't a day where he didn't wear it, even when he went out demon hunting.

They had now circled around the room, stopping to talk to various people. The room was packed with everybody. A few times they had even split off to talk to different people, but every time they gradually gravitated back towards each other.

They were standing in front of Maryse, who they hadn't seen properly since she had given them their roles as the new heads of the New York Institute. It had been a few days since the ceremony, and just over a week since they had sat in the office with Maryse and just discussed the option.

"So when is the wedding to be?" Maryse asked as she took a sip from her glass. Clary focused her attention back on the subject.

Everyone was gathered for Jace and Clary's engagement party. The sanctuary had been decorated with Magnus' magic, with flowers decorated everywhere and of course, sparkles. It looked like something out of a fairy tale to Clary. Jace had his arm wrapped around Clary's waist, his fingers tracing idle circles on the inside of her wrist. The touch on her skin was so familiar, she would know it even in the dark. Against her bare skin, she felt his navy jacket rub against her as he shifted his weight slightly, drawing her closer into him.

"Well, we haven't exactly figured out all the fine details yet. We're just enjoying being engaged, for now. Not to mention, things have been a little crazy lately so we haven't really had a chance to sit down and talk about the wedding," Jace explained.

"It will be sometime soon, though," Clary added, and Jace looked at her quickly, surprise crossing his face. This was not a thing they had discussed.

Maryse glanced between the red haired girl and the lion boy. She frowned as she watched them, noticing Jace's shocked expression and Clary's focused gaze on her own. She watched as Clary blushed a deep red colour which matched the colour of her roots. She didn't meet Jace's gaze, which was still penetrating into her, as if he was trying to draw the thoughts straight out of her head.

Maryse excused herself after seeing the tension build. Clary exhaled a breath she didn't realise she had been holding. "Jace, can I talk to you for a second?" she whispered. "Alone?"

Jace could only nod in silence, his brain still working overtime to process the rushed tone in Clary's voice as she had spoken her answer to Maryse. He let her pull him out of the room, her arm still in his. But he held it stiffly, Clary doing most of the work. Clary was aware of people watching them as they left, and she vaguely wondered what they were thinking. Were they thinking they were leaving to go find a place to make love? Or just to escape the madness of the party? But the love answer stuck in her head, and she flinched at the idea of people thinking about their sex life.

She pasted a smile on her face to hide her real emotions from the onlookers, to pretend like everything was all right. Clary glanced up at Jace and found he also had his emotions carefully hidden from the general public. His face was a black mask, waiting for sarcasm to draw fake emotions onto the white plaster. But to her, she could see there was a tightness in his face, a hint of worry and anxiety.

When they made it out of the room, Jace pulled Clary to a stop. He ran his hands down her arms, letting them halt above her wrists. His fingers circled her skinny wrists lightly; his golden eyes were alight with confusion. "Clary, what's going on? What's wrong?"

She shook her head. She still couldn't meet his gaze. "Nothing," she whispered, the words directed at the floor. "Nothing's going on."

She felt a light pressure underneath her chin, felt the brush of the calluses on his fingers from holding a weapon, felt him press her chin lightly to raise her eyeline to his. She flicked her gaze to his and found his golden gaze drilling into her, pleading her to tell him what was wrong. He always wanted to fix any problems she had, always wanted to be the one to protect her from everything, even things that weren't physical. "You said something about the wedding being soon? What did you mean by that?" he pressed.

"I want the wedding to be as soon as possible."

He frowned. "Izzy would kill you for that. Why do you want a quick marriage?"

 _Because I have something I need to tell you. Because we can't wait too much longer. Because I've been carrying this secret on my own for far too long._ But she didn't say any of those things. She couldn't bring herself to say any of those quite yet. It wasn't the right moment, and she hadn't quite come to terms with it herself. She needed time to sort her own thoughts out before she went running to Jace.

"Because I don't want to wait. I want to be married to you as soon as we can so I can start my life with you." Well, it wasn't a complete lie. She _did_ want to be married to him already. She loved him, and always had, from the very first moment she saw him in Pandemonium all those years again. Her blood sang at every thought of him, and the thought of waiting to marry Jace nearly killed her.

He softened at her words, drawing his arms around her so that he was pulling her against his chest. He seemed to have forgotten about any tension he had, had let it go like a child letting go of a helium balloon. One hand came up to cup her cheek. She leaned into his touch, turning her head to kiss his palm. She let her eyes close as she kept her head rested in the bend of his hand. "If that's all that was bothering you, then we can get married whenever you want to get married."

They fell into wedding conversation, throwing ideas around. At one point, Clary rolled up onto her toes to kiss his cheek, smiling as she did. But Jace turned his head and met her lips with his own. Clary inhaled with surprise. And of course, somebody barged in just as things were beginning to get heated.

Clary and Jace reluctantly pulled away from each other. Isabelle had thrown the doors open and stormed into the hallway where her brother and almost sister-in-law were standing in each other's arms. Her eyes held a storm as they landed on Jace and Clary, lightning flashing in them. "Can't you guys keep your hands off each other for five minutes?" she hissed. "Seriously, it's your engagement party, and people are here to celebrate you. But you disappeared and everyone is wondering where you went to. They're all thinking you went off to have sex."

"And what if we did? Isn't it our engagement party, so can't we do whatever we want?" Jace challenged, a smug expression on his face.

Clary looked up at him in alarm. "Jace!" she exclaimed, and he laughed, taking the edge off his words. Clary slapped him on the chest. Isabelle did not look impressed.

"Well, whatever," Isabelle said, and turned away from them, preparing to disappear back into the party. "Get your butts back in here before I kick them in there for you."

"Izzy, wait," Clary said, and glanced up at Jace, an eyebrow raised in question. He only shrugged to say, _if it's what you want, then okay._ But he was smiling, a soft smile which squeezed her heart with an excited grasp, and she squeezed his hand. "We have something to tell you."

Isabelle suddenly looked excited. She could see in their faces that the news was going to be good. It was more Jace's expression which told her that: the small smile as he looked at Clary. "Well, don't leave me hanging. Tell me!"

"We're getting married next week. Friday, we were thinking."

Isabelle's jaw hit the floor, and her eyes widened to the size of coins. "You what?! Who do you think I am? Magnus?"

"What about me?" Magnus had now appeared, poking his head around the corner as he emerged from the party. Alec followed shortly after him. They quickly explained that they had also come to find Jace and Clary when Isabelle, too, had not come back.

"These two have decided they want to get married in a week. Which, if I'm being honest, isn't even a full week. It's five days."

Magnus and Clary shared a look, so brief nobody else had seen it pass in the space between them. Magnus cleared his throat. "Well, they seem to love each other, don't they? So, why not? I've heard of worse."

"Are you serious?" Isabelle demanded, and Alec said her name softly to try and calm her. But she only shot him a killing glance. "And how am I meant to throw you the best wedding anyone has ever seen in just a week? You don't even have a dress yet, Clary."

Clary only shrugged, not looking fazed at all over the fact that she didn't have a wedding dress. "I'm sure I've got something in my wardrobe I can use."

Izzy looked like she might faint. Her skin had turned to the colour of ash, and she seemed to sway slightly on the spot. "No. Definitely not. We are going shopping for a dress tomorrow. No excuses. And you," she turned her icy gaze on Jace, who swallowed visibly and tightened his grip on Clary's hand. Clary almost laughed at the scared expression on Jace's face. Demons? No worries. But an angry Isabelle? He was going to wet himself. "You, Alec and Magnus must all be wearing tuxes, or else. And you will all be helping me over these next few days otherwise there will be no Jace and Clary wedding."

"Yes, Ma'am," Jace and Alec replied at the same time.

"You won't get a complaint out of me," Magnus said.

"At least somebody wants to cooperate with me," Izzy said with a sigh.

***PAGE BREAK***

Clary collapsed onto the neatly made bed, still clothed in her party dress and heels which were killing her feet. She heard the door close with a soft click, and then Jace's soft footsteps as he came closer to the bed.

"Will you please take my shoes off for me?" Clary asked, and peered up at him through her hands. He chuckled, and then his warm, long fingers were playing piano down her legs to her ankles, where they worked at the small buckles. As soon as she felt the buckles snap off, she sighed in relief.

"Better?" he said as he laughed.

"Much, thank you."

"Clary," he said tentatively and she glanced at him again. He wore a peculiar expression. "Sit up for a moment." She frowned but did as he asked. She sat beside him, not touching, but close enough that she could feel heat radiating off his body. "I got you something."

"You did?" He fished around in his blazer pocket, drawing out a navy, velvet box. The colour matched his jacket. She gasped, her hand flying to her open mouth. "Jace…" she murmured.

He glanced up at her, and smiled softly. He popped the box open, and inside was a ring with just a single diamond sitting on top of a silver band. "I'm not proposing to you again," he said, "And I know I already gave you the Herondale ring, as it is done with our Shadowhunter traditions. But I'm also aware of the world you grew up in, which was the mundane world, and I know how they do it. I wanted to get you something which would represent that. I know it was a big part of your life."

Tears sprang to Clary's eyes. "Oh, Jace, that's so thoughtful of you. You really didn't have to."

"I know. But I wanted to. I want you to know how much you mean to me, and that I would do anything for you. I love you, Clary."

She held her hand out. He took it gently, sliding the Herondale ring off her finger, and replacing it with the diamond ring. He put the Shadowhunter ring which was engraved with herons back on after it. She stared down at her hand which was now more decorated. "It's beautiful, Jace." She leant forward and kissed him. His lips tasted of salt, and she pulled away, realising that she had silent tears running down her cheeks. He reached forward and brushed them away with his thumb.

Clary leant forward again, but this time, to wrap her arms around his neck, pulling herself into his lap. His strong arms slipped around her back, and held her to him tightly. "I love it, but you know, I don't need fancy jewellery to tell me you love me, I already know."

She felt his lips against her hair, his breath stirring the hairs on the top of her head. She sighed contentedly into him, folding into him more. Clary let Jace hold her, and he seemed content to just stay there with her in his arms. She knew if she just stayed in his arms, then everything would be all right. And whenever she found the courage to tell him her secret, they would be okay, because they would be together.

 **A/N: Thank you for reading yet another chapter! It was once again a bit of a boring chapter, but I'm still leading up to some big stuff, including the wedding. And some big events will be happening very soon! In fact, there will be ANOTHER new chapter tomorrow (it's going to be an exciting one!). You're welcome**

 **Don't forget to review! xx**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

 **A/N: As promised, here is another chapter. It's a long one though, a lot is going to happen, so strap yourself in, get a snack and maybe a drink, and get ready.**

 _Valentine stood in front of Lake Lyn, his arms raised towards the sky as he chanted words in latin. Clary stood behind him, watching him, but unable to move. She tried to call out to him, to stop him. She opened her mouth, the words springing to her lips, but when they spilled out like water droplets, no sound came with them._

 _Jace appeared a moment later. He was bloody, limping, but still the most beautiful person Clary had ever seen. She watched him die, as Valentine stabbed him in the heart with the mortal sword. She watched as Jace fell, like a falling angel, landing on the sand, just as elegantly as if he was alive._

 _Valentine turned back to the lake, and then somebody or something was rising out of it. She expected to see an angel, just like how the scene was all those years ago. But with a scream, she realised, it wasn't an angel at all._

"Clary!"

She jolted awake, scrambling into an upright position, as a scream lodged its way into her throat. She choked on it, the sound piercing the silence of the night. There were hands on her arms, on her shoulders, holding her. She screamed again, and fell off the bed. She felt a pain drive up through her wrist as it took all of her weight. She scrambled across the floor, and then a figure appeared in front of her.

"Clary," her name was spoken. "Clary, it's me. It's Jace. It was just a bad dream."

 _Jace._ He was alive, he was all right. She squeezed her eyes shut, focusing on the sound of his name, letting it bring her back to reality. She cradled her sore arm in the other, resting her back against the bed frame. There was a crash, and Clary's eyes sprung open. She recoiled away slightly. What if it was…

"By the angel," Jace exclaimed, and his voice was angry. "Don't you guys knock?" Isabelle, Alec and Simon, even a sleepy looking Magnus were all standing in the doorway.

Alec glared at Jace. "We heard somebody scream. We weren't thinking about knocking, not when we thought somebody was in danger."

"Well, everybody is fine and everything will be all right." Jace's voice softened as he continued speaking, his words now becoming directed at Clary. Her gaze was focused on his. He took a single step in her direction, arms held out steadily in front of him, as if he was approaching a wild animal.

Clary was shaking violently, her teeth chattering so loudly she thought everyone else must be able to hear it. She wasn't sure whether she was cold or not. She watched as Jace approached her, one step at a time, his hands still outstretched in front of him. She felt tears building with each step he took, could feel herself starting to crumble. And then, she was crying, she was doubling over herself, hiccupping and choking on sobs.

Jace's arms were around her in seconds, and she rocked into him, but she didn't dare close her eyes again. She could see him waiting for her in the darkness, his black eyes shining like buttons. Jace murmured over and over that everything was okay, that she was awake now and nothing could harm her while she was awake. But the tears didn't slow. And everyone stood there awkwardly and just watched as Clary lost her mind in Jace's arms.

"What happened?" she heard someone ask, and thought, Simon maybe.

"Bad dream," Jace muttered as he continued to rock Clary gently.

"Wow. Really bad dream. Come on," Alec said and took his sister's arm. "We should go. I don't think Clary wants us here." Jace nodded a thanks at his brother as the party left.

"Clary…" he murmured into her ear, and brushed her hair out of her wet face. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head and he started to say that it was okay, and then she was speaking, cutting him off. "I watched you die… again… on the beach of Lake Lyn," she gasped for air. "It was exactly how it was years ago, with Valentine and the mortal instruments, and somebody rising out of the lake. But it wasn't an angel, it was my brother. But not the person we saw with Claudius. My demon brother."

His arms tightened around her, and then they were gone. She started crying again at the absence of his warm body. Her emotions felt like they were on a rollercoaster, a machine she couldn't control. Jace was back at her side in a second, his stele in one hand, his other caressing her shoulder.

"Show me your wrist," he said, gently, and she held her left arm out. On her ring finger, her engagement ring winked at her beside the Herondale ring. She let herself focus on the jewellery and the memory that their wedding was in just two days, and there was a golden dress hanging up in Isabelle's wardrobe. He turned her wrist back and forth, his fingers light on her skin. "Doesn't look too bad. Just a slight sprain, maybe." But he applied the tip of stele to her bare skin anyway, and drew an _iratze._ She felt the pain abandon her almost immediately.

Jace sat beside her, only letting his shoulder brush hers, and his hand rest on top of her knee. He knew she would make a move when she was ready, and he would be there, waiting, for that moment. They didn't speak, just let the sound of their breathing fill the space between them.

Eventually, Clary let her head rest against Jace's shoulder, and that was when he knew she would be okay. He lifted an arm around her head, and pulled her into his body, fitting them together like two puzzle pieces. They sat there for the rest of the night.

***PAGE BREAK***

Clary was more withdrawn the next morning. She was exhausted for a start, but the dream still haunted her memories. She went into the office before Jace, not bothering with breakfast, and started going through the mail and replying back to the clave. They were after a new institute trainer, and Jace and Clary still hadn't settled on one. The clave were becoming impatient.

One candidate's name was Jonathon, and she stopped on it for a while, just looking at the name, but not considering any of his attributes. She was completely lost in thought when there was a loud shrill sound echoing through the room. She jumped in her seat, but immediately reached for the phone, despite the pounding of her heart.

"Hello, Clary Fairchild speaking," Clary said.

"Hi Clary, we've had reports of demons in upper Brooklyn. Would you be able to dispatch a team to sort that out?"

The heels of her boots clipped on the stairs as she scampered down them. She found Jace and the others in the training room. Jace and Alec were sparring together, while Izzy and Simon were throwing daggers together. Alec said something quietly to Jace, and Jace immediately rose from his crouch to face Clary. He started coming towards her.

"There's a demon attack in Upper Manhattan that's causing grief to the mundanes."

Isabelle grinned. "Let's make sure those bastards wish they never left Hell."

The team started to retreat from the training room, all leaving to go get dressed in gear and to be runed up. Jace fell into step beside Clary, his gaze on her face. "You okay?" he asked quietly.

She glanced up at him. "I'm fine. Why?"

He shrugged. "Just, last night was a rough one for you. I just want to make sure you're all right."

She wanted to snap at him, but she knew he was only trying to help. She sighed and stopped walking. He paused after her, and looked at her with an open expression. He was being open with her about how he was feeling, she needed to be open with him too.

Just like last night, Jace didn't touch Clary, knowing she would come to him when she was ready.

"What if I'm like them, Jace?"

He looked at her, puzzled. "Like who, Clary?"

"My family. The Morgensterns. I can keep my name as Fairchild, but I'll always have Morgenstern blood running through my veins. And everyone I have met has been a terrible person."

Jace shook his head. His lips were parted in surprise. He reached forward and grasped his hands in hers. His grip was like iron, holding her to the here and now. "That's crazy, Clary. You're nothing like them. You've got all of their goodness, every single drop. There's nothing but purity and innocence in you." He turned her hands over, his thumbs dancing across her palms. "And look, no blood. You're clean. Your father wasn't. Sebastian wasn't. Your brother only became what he was because of your father. But your brother is good now. You said so yourself."

She sighed, not feeling fully convinced, but feeling slightly better. She glanced up at him, and tried for a smile, but think she only ended up grimacing. "Will you hold me?" He only smiled, and wrapped his arms around her. She folded herself into him, letting him support her weight, letting him protect her from herself, from her bad dreams, from her own doubts.

Simon appeared in the hallway then, looking awkward as his eyes landed on the snuggling couple. "Oh, sorry. I didn't realise there was a moment happening."

Clary pulled away from Jace, stepping away, taking her weight back. "Sorry, Si. What's up?"

Simon's eyes flickered over Clary's face, his gaze narrowing in on her eyes. She could feel they were puffy and red, even though she hadn't been crying. "You okay, Fray?"

"You know you can't call me that anymore. I'm a Fairchild now. But yes, everything is all good. Let's go kill some demons."

Simon squinted at her some more, but nodded. "You'll always be a Fray to me."

Dressed in shadowhunter gear, and weapons strapped to their bodies, Clary and Jace joined the others in the foyer. Magnus was there too, dressed in a sparkly version of what looked like battle gear too. His eyes landed on Clary and narrowed.

"Should you be coming, Clary?" he asked.

She looked at him with wide yes. Was he really going to spill her secret right then and there? She shook her head at him, and he seemed to understand what she meant. But Jace didn't. "Why should Clary stay here?"

Magnus' cat eyes turned on the golden boy. The lion was standing near his girlfriend, not touching, but close enough that they looked like a team. Magnus couldn't believe Clary still hadn't told him. What was she waiting for? "Somebody has to stay here and look after the institute. And besides, you're both Heads now, which means one of you should remain here."

Jace turned his golden eyes onto Clary. "You don't have to stay, if you don't want to. Magnus has a point though. I can stay if you want."

Magnus followed Clary's hands. She had subconsciously folded her hands over her stomach. He looked up and found Izzy also looking at Clary's hands. Magnus cleared his throat, and Clary came to herself, dropping her hands. "No, it's all right. You're right, and Magnus is right, I'll stay here. Somebody has to look after the institute."

"You sure?" Jace asked, and took her hand, which was now loose at her side, lightly in his.

She nodded. "You guys go. I'll be here when you get back." Jace kissed Clary quickly, squeezing her hand before following the others out of the institute.

Subconsciously, her hands found their way back to her stomach, caressing the skin. Maybe it was for the best that she remained behind. She made her way back up to the office, bending her head over the mountain of paperwork which needed filing out. It felt like she had been sitting there for only a few moments when the doorbell rang. She frowned, and glanced at the time. She gaped when she noticed where the hands on the clock were sitting. She had been working for a good two hours.

Clary made her way down to the front door of the institute, scrubbing at her now tired eyes and at her sore neck. Her hands touched the doorknob and she pulled it away quickly, hissing in surprise as the metal was freezing cold to the touch. She placed her hands on it again, this time pulling the door open. She stopped. The blood in her veins stopped pumping around her veins as her heart froze in her chest.

"Hello, Clarissa, how nice to see you again," Claudius said and stepped into the institute before she could move. She was still frozen to the spot. "Nice place you have here. Is anybody else home?"

"No," she found herself saying, almost mechanically. "They've all gone to fight some demons in upper Manhattan."

Claudius touched his head in a way that said _duh._ "Ah, yes. How could I forget? They won't last long on my demons."

Clary blanched. " _Your_ demons?"

He nodded. "Yes. They are forever at my command. I had to gamble on whether they would leave you behind though. I know of your little secret, Clarissa. Or should I say, rather _big_ secret?"

Clary stepped back, one hand wrapping around her stomach. "What secret?"

"Oh, please, you don't fool me. Look at you, standing there like that. Does Jace know? Anybody else?"

She shook her head. "Only Magnus. How do you know?"

He gestured at himself, telling her to take in his full beauty. "I am a warlock, just like your friend, Magnus. I know these things." He took a step forward, a hand outstretched. Clary backed away. "Should we go see how your little friends are doing? Maybe we should tell them our little secret?"

"Stay away from me. And stay away from my friends."

Claudius moved faster than she had expected him to. She went to run, but found her legs wouldn't move. Pain shot up her body whenever she wiggled. "Don't try to move, my niece. I'm sure you're familiar with these kinds of spells. I've heard you've had them done to you a few times now."

"You bastard."

"Maybe I need to put a silence spell on you too. Although, that would take the fun out of spilling the one thing you've been holding back from your beloved Jace." His hand travelled down to rest over her belly, and she stiffened. "Let's go." He flicked his fingers, and suddenly Clary was sucked into darkness.

She caught flashes of the New York Institute, and then flashes of a familiar part of Manhattan. Luke's house. They slammed down in the backyard, down near the lake. Clary felt acid burning a path up her throat, and she choked on it, throwing up onto the ground. Claudius still held onto her, but not to comfort her, only to keep her in his grasp. She couldn't run though. Her feet were still frozen.

Up ahead, she could hear a battle still happening. She thought she could hear Jace's cries, and then she saw him. A golden blur between the trees down at the lake. Clary felt her legs tingle with blood again as Claudius pushed her forwards, forcing her to walk forward. He had one arm wrapped around her torso, pressing into her stomach, and another around her neck.

They pushed out into a clearing. Izzy, Alec, Simon, and Jace were all there, all still battling demons which seemed to be an endless supply. Everywhere Clary looked, there was another three demons. She spotted Magnus with hands which were lit up with blue flames, and then there was a growl, and when she turned her head, she saw Luke in his werewolf form.

A demon was sneaking up on Jace from behind, but he didn't seem to notice it as he battled two in front of him. It slithered across the ground, leaving a trail of ichor in its wake. "Jace, watch out!" she screamed, and then yelped with pain as Claudius dug his nails into Clary's side.

Jace whirled around, a blue arch from his seraph blade following his movements. He stabbed at the demon, and it screamed as one of its legs went flying. Jace turned and spun, flinging himself at all the demons which surrounded him. In his dance of death, Jace's eyes sought out the source of the cry, his ears picking up on the most familiar voice he knew. But how was that possible? She wasn't here.

His eyes caught at a flash of red on his next turn. They focused for a second on a girl with red hair, held in the arms of a tall, dark man. He growled a curse, and flung himself harder at the demons. They all went up in a fountain of dust within seconds, as he stalked up towards Clary and Claudius.

"Let her go," Jace demanded, his golden eyes flashing like lightning.

"I didn't get my blood, Jace Herondale," Claudius said. "I didn't get what I came for the first time. And I'm still determined to get it. I'm just getting a little bit of an added bonus today."

"And what added bonus is that?" Jace growled. His eyes flickered once to Clary, a question in them. Clary nodded to say she was okay. Except his eyes didn't miss how pale she looked.

Claudius opened his mouth to respond, a wicked smile curving his lips and lighting up his entire face. He looked more like Valentine than he had ever before. But the words Claudius had been about to say never came out, for Clary, in his moment of distraction, had pushed forward. She spun, hand out for a second, waiting for Jace to respond. The handle of his seraph blade made contact with her palm, and her fingers closed on the hilt. She brought it forward, ready to stab it into his heart, ready to kill her uncle. But there was a stiffening in her body, and then she was flung backwards.

Clary screamed, feeling wind slap her in the face. She hit the water with a force that sent the air out of her lungs. Water quickly filled her open mouth, and she choked and gagged. But she couldn't move. Claudius had done his earlier trick, and her limbs were locked in a death grip. She could feel herself sinking. She tried to kick around, but only felt pain stab up her legs.

Darkness flickered at the corners of her vision. She was suddenly exhausted, and suddenly at peace. She didn't feel the need to fight anymore. She was warm, in a bed that caressed her, soft lullabies filled her ears.

The darkness took over, and she let herself float through the star-less night.

 **A/N: :O**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Jace," somebody said behind him. There was a firm weight of a hand falling onto his shoulder. He spun around slightly, Clary still blue and frozen in his arms. He glared up at the figure standing behind him, casting him into shadows. It was Alec. He wore a grief stricken expression, his mouth tightened at the corners and a shining in both eyes. But he was also staring down at his friend with sympathy.

Jace shoved Alec's hand off his shoulder and turned back to his fiancé. "She's not gone," he choked. "She will be fine. She has to be." His arms were pumping down on her small chest. He had broken her rib cage to get better access to her heart. But his arms were tired, and for at least five minutes now, her heart hadn't resumed its usual beat which always matched with his own. He didn't dare stop though. Clary couldn't be gone. She couldn't leave him. He didn't know what he would do without her, didn't know who he would be without his small, fiery, red headed Clary.

Clary's skin was pale with a slight blue tinge. Her lips were slightly parted, but no breath slipped between the small space between. He couldn't see her green eyes, but maybe that was for the best. If it was any other situation, Jace could fool himself into thinking she was asleep. That her mind was lost to a world full of dreams, of which maybe he might visit. He would be able to believe that if her chest beneath his fingers was rising and falling with each breath she took… but it wasn't…

He sobbed softly.

Jace brought his mouth down over Clary's, breathing oxygen into her, feeling her lungs inflate with his air. He continued pressing down on her chest, trying to get her heart to start beating again. Jace fumbled in his back pocket for his stele, and brought the tip down over her heart. He drew an _iratze_ without thinking about it, watching as it began to sink into her skin without any effect. It felt like the hundredth rune he had drawn in the last five minutes. He continued to kiss her, continued to fill her lungs, continued to press against her broken chest. He wasn't about to give up on her.

"Jace…" another voice, more feminine this time. Isabelle.

"Go away…" he began but broke off as he felt a movement underneath his fingertips. He gasped, and touched the spot above her heart, where there was still a slight outline of his healing rune. The movement had been so small that it was almost nothing, but he was sure he had felt it. He pressed his stele again, and drew yet another rune. This one didn't fade as much. "Come on, Clary," he whispered, all while he watched as movement began to happen in front of him – a small beat of the heart, a small flutter of eyelashes. "Come back to me, baby."

There was a sharp inhale of breath. Clary's eyes flew open, focusing on the sky. She started to shake, and then she was choking, turning bluer as she struggled to breathe. Jace immediately leapt off her, and pushed her onto her side. Water spewed out of her mouth, staining the already wet sand beneath her fingers.

Jace placed a warm, reassuring hand on her back. She turned towards him, curling herself into him once she was finished bringing up all the water in her lungs. She was shivering violently, but she was alive, and Jace focused on that small fact. "Good girl. I've got you now." He pulled his gear jacket off, and wrapped the fabric around her trembling shoulders. He hugged her close, kissing the top of her wet hair. He tasted salt and seaweed, but didn't care. Clary hung onto Jace's T-shirt, her grip on him tight, turning her knuckles white.

"Jace," a voice spoke again, and this time, he looked up, open to hearing what anyone had to say. It was Magnus who spoke. "We should get her back to the Institute. I can look over her better there," Magnus said, and a blue flame erupted from his fingers, a portal appearing in front of them all.

Jace nodded, and stood, holding Clary steadily in his arms, close to his chest. She whimpered softly, and Jace's arms tightened around her. She felt so small in his arms, smaller than he had ever felt before. He didn't want to let go of her, in case something happened when he lost his touch for a split second, or he had imagined the entire thing.

As Jace approached the portal, the first one to disappear through it with Clary, the others stared at the small girl curled up in the warrior's arms. Clary saw a flash of Simon who smiled encouragingly at him, but his face was pale, his eyes hooded. She closed her eyes then, not wanting to meet other people's reactions. She turned her head into Jace's chest, gripped his shirt tighter like it was a lifeline.

Jace stepped through the portal Magnus had created, the others following shortly after them. There was a whirlwind all around them, colours snapping back and forth, and then they were in the Infirmary of the New York Institute. Jace landed in a crouch tightening his arms around Clary to ensure she was safe and okay.

His mind wandered to the potential events of earlier, when Claudius had arrived at the Institute when the others hadn't been there, how he had taken Clary and almost killed her. He hated himself for not being there when he needed her, for leaving her behind where he couldn't watch over her and protect her. Although, she probably would have punched him for thinking that. He knew she could protect herself, but sometimes you just need other people to help.

The Infirmary was a rush of action and noise as Jace carefully placed Clary on the bed, and everyone focused on the small girl. Magnus snapped at everyone to get out, Jace included. He needed to peace and quiet to work. Jace protested, he didn't want to leave Clary. Alec took his _parabatai's_ shoulder and led him out, kicking and screaming almost. With everyone gone, Magnus leant over Clary's still blue and shivering form, and produced a blanket, laying it over her. Clary clutched at it gratefully as his fingers lit up with blue flames and assessed the damage.

The room was painfully quiet. Magnus' eyes were closed in concentration. "Is everything okay?" Clary asked quietly, not able to take the silence anymore; her voice though, was barely louder than a whisper. Magnus' eyes met Clary's. There was an expression on his face which she couldn't read. "What? What's wrong?" she questioned urgently.

"It's amazing, really…" Magnus began, and shook his head incredulously. "Everything seems to be perfectly fine. A miracle. You were gone for a good five minutes."

She placed a hand over her flat belly. "The baby?"

He nodded. "Absolutely fine."

Clary sighed in relief. She glanced up into the warlock's face again. "What if Jace doesn't want to marry me because I'm having his kid? What if he doesn't want kids? I still haven't told him because I'm terrified of how he'll react. And the wedding is tomorrow, and he has a right to know, I know that…" She was babbling, shivering with another force that wasn't just cold.

Magnus placed a reassuring hand on Clary's shoulder. "Calm down, Clary. You have to stay calm, particularly after the trauma you just went through. Jace loves you, and he will always love you, no matter what." He looked at her, hard, in a way that said no nonsense. "And tomorrow… I suggest you get as much rest as you can over these next few days. The wedding can wait…"

"No," she replied. She swung her legs off the bed, taking the blanket with her, and wrapping it around her shoulders. Somebody had changed her, Jace she hoped. She wore one of Jace's shirts, and only a pair of underwear on the bottom. "The wedding has to still go ahead tomorrow." She started to walk towards the door of the institute. "I love Jace, and I don't want to postpone. I'm pregnant, Magnus. With Jace's baby. It needs to happen."

"Where are you going then? You need to rest if you're going to go through with it."

To Magnus, she looked exhausted, and small, like she was about ready to fold in on herself. He wanted to protest with her, but knew she was so stubborn she wouldn't listen to a word he said. "I'm going to rest, just in my own room. Is that okay?"

He nodded, and didn't stop her from leaving the infirmary. Clary emerged out of the room to find the others waiting. Alec and Izzy were trying to talk to Jace, but like Simon, Jace was staring at the floor, his eyes lost. Jace was leaning against the wall, his hands tugging at the blonde strands of his hair.

Isabelle was the first one to notice the red haired girl standing in the hallway. She smiled at Clary, and elbowed Jace in the ribs. He jumped, and forced his eyeline up. He looked at his sister questioningly, before his eyes were turning towards the figure Izzy had nodded towards. They landed on Clary immediately. They flickered momentarily to someone standing behind her, and relief flooded his body.

Jace closed the distance between him and Clary, and he caught her up into his arms. He crushed her to him with a gentle grace, holding her as if she might break like glass. She closed her eyes as his smell and warmth flooded her, and thought that she didn't want to move again.

It was only with reluctance that Clary pulled away from her protector, and faced the others. She smiled over at Izzy. "Are you still ready for a wedding tomorrow?"

"Clary…" Jace chided gently, but she shook her head at him, saying she was going to marry him no matter what.

"Don't bother, golden boy," Magnus said. "I already tried several times. She won't listen to anyone."

***PAGE BREAK***

Clary knocked on their door. After coming and going from this room whenever she wanted, as she now shared the room with Jace, it felt weird to be knocking on the door. But Isabelle had abducted her, as was the wedding tradition. Jace had been reluctant to let Clary go after what had happened, considering Clary was still on the mend, and needed all the rest she could get. But Isabelle had persuaded him, and after Clary had said she was okay (although, she hadn't wanted to leave Jace either), Clary had gone with Isabelle and was having a sleepover with her.

But now was the time to reveal the secret she had carried for the past two weeks. She wouldn't let herself go through with the wedding with such a big secret hanging over his head. Particularly when it could change everything…

"Come in." She heard his voice on the other side of the room, and her heart did a weird flip flop. She felt sick. Clary pushed the door open, and stepped into the room. It was mostly in darkness, but a soft light came from a lamp on the bedside table. Just like a few nights ago, he was sprawled on his bed, a worn book in his hand, the other arm tucked under his head. He was shirtless, too, and she admired his body for a moment. Tomorrow, he would be all hers.

He sat up immediately, the moment his eyes landed on her. "Clary? Is everything okay?"

She shook her head, a small smile playing on her lips. She could still feel her stomach churning though. "Everything is fine, Jace."

She came further into the room and sat on the bed, drawing her legs underneath her. "Why are you here, then? I mean, not that I'm not glad to see you, of course I am. But I thought Izzy would have had you locked in a room somewhere." He reached out and ran a careful finger down one of her curls. His face was soft as he looked at her.

"Izzy understands," she said.

He frowned, eyes searching her face. "Understands what?"

She took a deep breath and felt her stomach move again. His frown deepened as he watched her face, the way her eyes seemed to flicker anxiously. Clary burst off the bed, and ran for the connected bathroom. She heard Jace say her name, but couldn't respond. She crashed to the floor, and threw herself over the toilet, feeling her dinner make a reappearance. A warm hand touched her spine, and she leaned into him when she was finished.

He flushed the toilet, and reached for a towel, wetting it with cold water and pressing it to her forehead. She sighed with relief as it cooled her warm skin. "Are you still sick? We don't have to go through with tomorrow, you know we don't. Particularly after today."

She shook her head, and curled into him on the bathroom floor. She needed him after today. The worst part about getting married tomorrow was that you were meant to spend the night before the wedding away from the husband to be. Jace's arms immediately went around her, holding her close. They were silent for a moment.

"I want to get married tomorrow," Clary said. "There's nothing more that I want."

Clary felt his lips gently touch her forehead. She moved away from him, and towards the sink. Swilling her mouth out and then brushing her teeth to remove the aftertaste. He stood but watched her from a distance, concern flickering in his eyes. When she was done, she moved towards him again, and took his hands. She led him out of the bathroom and back to the bed.

"Jace…" she said after a while of silence, after they had taken a seat on the bed together, side by side and with hands still touching in the space between them. He looked at her when she said his name. "I have something to tell you. Promise me you won't freak out, or get mad?"

He shook his head, and strands of his blonde hair fell into his face. Clary reached out and brushed them back. "Never, Clary. You know I would never get angry with you. I love you too much to waste my time being angry."

She smiled. Clary pulled one of the hands she had clasped towards her, and rested it over her belly. "Jace, I'm pregnant."

He paled and blanched. "What?"

"We haven't exactly been the most careful lately. I found out two weeks ago, the day we got back from Claudius."

He paled further. "You mean to say, that all these times we've been out demon hunting and fighting Claudius, you've been carrying our child?"

She nodded. "Unintentionally. It's why Magnus suggested I stay back yesterday, because he was the one who told me I'm pregnant. Just… it didn't quite go as planned." She laughed without emotion. Jace was frozen to the spot, unblinking. She touched his face lightly. "It's okay though, Jace. Magnus said the baby is fine." Then she froze and said, "Unless you don't want it? You haven't exactly said how you're feeling about all this… and I understand if you don't, or if you're not ready. I'm not exactly sure if I'm ready either yet—"

Jace leant forward and kissed Clary, cutting off all other words she looked like she was about to say. She made a noise of surprise, but melted into him. "I want the baby, Clary. It's a part of you, and I love you, and I want every part of you."

She pulled away, and looked into his eyes. He was staring at her with an open expression, and she could see how much he meant those words. "You're okay with this?"

"Of course I am."

"I've been freaking out, not wanting to tell you for ages because I was scared of how you would react. And if you didn't want this baby, then I didn't know what I was going to do. I didn't know if it would affect how you saw me, or how you loved me. I was terrified."

He caught her face in between his hands, his thumbs stroking her cheekbones lightly. "You should never be afraid of me. Never be afraid to come and tell me something, or tell me you need me. You know I will do anything and everything for you. There's not much you can do that will ever stop me from loving you."

Clary crawled onto Jace's lap, and curled her fingers around his neck, burying her face into the crook of his neck. Jace's arms immediately wound around her, like they always did. His fingers played with the ends of her curls which lay on her back.

"Who else knows?" he whispered, not letting go.

"Just you, Magnus, and Izzy. That's why I was allowed to come here. I'm meant to go back though, I'm still not meant to stay here." She frowned.

He pulled away, and smiled sadly as he cupped her cheek with a hand. "It's okay. You go. I'll be here if you need me. Otherwise, I'll see you tomorrow."

She scooted closer to him though. "I don't want to go though. Please. Can I stay?"

"But Izzy…"

"But I don't want to be alone tonight. I don't want to be without you. Not after today. I need you." Clary said.

Jace stood up, and for a moment, she thought he was going to insist she leave. But he went around to his side of the bed, and crawled under the covers. He flipped back the corner of her side, inviting her in. Clary grinned and slid beside him, immediately curling up on so her back was facing him. She felt his chest press against her, felt his heartbeat against her spine, felt his breath tickle the back of her neck. He curled an arm around her as he tucked his legs into hers. "You know I would never tell you no. I always want to have you, too."

She sighed into him, already beginning to fall asleep. "I love you, Jace."

His hand slipped down to rest over her belly. "I love you too, and I can't wait to meet our little one."

 **A/N: Another long one. Hope you enjoyed it and it got your heart bumping, particularly at the beginning!**

 **Don't forget to review, review, review. Xx**

 **Also thank you so much to all the lovely people who have said the nicest things in the reviews. As an aspiring author, you have no idea what those reviews can do. So, thank you so much!**


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Clary stared down at her hands, gaze flickering over the smooth, pale skin while her fingers twisted the Herondale and diamond ring around nervously. There was a small tap on her shoulder, and the small girl turned, lips parted in surprise. Her soon to be sister-in-law, Isabelle stood there, scowling but looking as beautiful and elegant as ever in her lilac gown. Clary wished she could look as beautiful as Isabelle.

"What?" Clary asked, wilting a little under the taller girl's intense stare.

"Stop fidgeting," Isabelle said, "You'll be fine and you look perfect… thanks to me." She smiled, and reached up to fix one of the combs which held Clary's hair off her face.

Clary immediately dropped her hands, thanking Isabelle, and smoothed the layers of her gold and white dress like they were the wings of an angel. For her wedding, Carly had chosen to marry both of the worlds she had known and loved together. Jace had been right when he had given her a mundane styled engagement ring. She did love her old world because it was still a part of who she was. But she also loved her new world because it had brought her the best man she could ever dream of, and friends she could call her own, and a world of purpose.

The dress was simple though, with the gold being the main colour. That was more appropriate for the Head of the New York Institute. It fell to her ankles, showing her gold strappy shoes, which Isabelle had forced her into, and clung to each of Clary's curves. The white highlighted the gold. If she turned to the side when looking in the mirror, she thought she could see a slight baby bump, but that could have just been her hyper imagination.

"Ready?" a deep voice said, and Clary turned to find Luke waiting, dressed in a black tux, and not the gold of the Shadowhunters. He approached, and held out an arm for her to take. Today, Luke would be stepping in as the father figure he had always been to Clary, and would be giving her away. Clary took a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling, and nodded, despite the churning feeling of her stomach.

Clary placed her hand in the crook of his elbow, and let him pull them forward, towards the waiting crowd of eager onlookers.

"Please don't let me fall," Clary whispered anxiously, as the thought of tripping on the hem of her dress or the toe of her shoe filled her mind. Luke squeezed her hand with his free arm, speaking that he would catch her if she fell without words. Clary was suddenly incredibly grateful Luke was there.

The moment her eyes landed on Jace, standing in the middle of Central park, in front of a wedding arch decorated with flowers which were the prettiest Clary had ever seen, all of Clary's nerves disappeared. Clary itched to have her pencil and sketch book with her so she could draw the scene.

Clary remembered the way she had woken that morning. Isabelle had slammed into their room with so much noise that both Clary and Jace had jerked awake, both reaching for their weapons which waited patiently on the dresser. Isabelle had stormed in and taken Clary by the arm, barely allowing the couple to kiss quickly before she was abducted. Clary had then been locked in Izzy's room all morning, being poked and prodded with hair and makeup utensils.

And now she was walking down the aisle, surrounded by everyone she loved. Jace's golden eyes immediately found hers, and she blushed under his stare which showed his admiration and love. His gaze swept over her entire body as she continued to approach, drinking in her appearance. When he brought his attention back to Clary's face, he flashed her a grin which was brighter than the sunlight which streamed down on their perfect day. It made Clary's insides melt like an ice cream, and with that, the last of her worries about falling swirled away like Jace had pulled a plug. She couldn't help but grin back at him.

Jace held out a steady hand in Clary's direction, and Luke passed her over to him. From the corner of her eye, she saw Luke give Jace a warning glare, to keep Clary safe the way he always had. Jace just nodded, and gripped Clary's hand tighter. But Clary pulled away slightly to kiss Luke on the cheek. He stepped back as Clary tossed him a reassuring smile and stepped towards Jace. She caught her mother's gaze as she did, and found her already crying. Luke went to her side to console her.

"Ready?" Jace's voice brought her attention back to him.

She glanced up into his face. Even in the torture devices which were her heels, Clary was still a lot shorter than Jace. But she didn't mind. She still loved Jace just as much. "Yes," she replied, and her heart swelled with excitement. No more nerves were in sight.

They glanced at Brother Enoch who stood in front of them, underneath the arbor; his scarred face was hidden within the shadows of his hooded robe. The service began and ended in no time. They repeated their vows to each other, and stood hand in hand while Brother Enoch rambled on about what marriage means and how Clary Fairchild and Jace Herondale would be forever united and bound by their love. Then came the part where they had to circle the marriage runes onto each other – one over the heart, which for Jace was right beside his _parabatai_ rune, and the other on their arm. Clary welcomed the familiar burn of the stele touching her skin, treasuring the rune that would forever be engraved on her skin.

Finally, it came to an end and they were allowed to kiss. Jace carefully placed his hands on either side of Clary's face, tracing the soft lines of her cheeks with his thumbs. He lifted her head up to meet her lips with his. They kissed, soft and gentle. Vaguely, Clary heard their loved ones applauding and cheering, but she barely noticed it as her world shrunk down to just her and Jace, their lips connecting in the space between them. Clary's hands came up to tangle in the soft curls at the nape of Jace's neck. It was one of her favourite spots of him.

She smiled against his lips as she realised he was now completely hers, and there was nothing that could ever come between them.

She pulled away shortly, and stared up at her new husband. They kissed again, this time Clary rolling up and onto her tippy toes to press the kiss to his warm lips. "I love you," she whispered when she pulled away, so soft that it was only a message he could hear. Jace could only smile down at her, one of his real smiles, as he took her hand and pulled her down the aisle, with everyone on either side and petals falling from somewhere overhead.

They were dancing now, just swaying slightly to the music. Clary had her arms wrapped around Jace's waist, her cheek pressed against his white shirt front. His hands were firm on her shoulders, his fingers tracing light circles over her bare shoulders. Clary pulled away and reached up to press a kiss to Jace's lips. He tasted like Jace with a slight extra sweetness of champagne. Clary wished she could drink the bubbly liquid, but that was off the table for a while.

Clary started when there was a light tap on her shoulder. She turned with surprise, to find Simon standing there, his hands clasped politely behind his back. He smiled at her when their eyes met.

"Hey, Si," she said and stepped away from Jace to hug her best friend tightly. "Thank you so much for coming today. You have no idea how much it means to me to have you here."

"Of course. I wouldn't miss it for the world. Can I have a dance with the new Mrs Herondale?"

Clary glanced towards Jace who squeezed her hand and let it go. She tilted her head up as he lowered his head, and pressed a kiss to her cheek. When he stepped away, she let Simon pull her towards him, his long fingers gripping her waist lightly while her hands settled on his shoulders.

Simon playfully twirled Clary around, and she laughed, tilting her head back as happiness bubbled up from inside her. She remembered when she had lost Simon briefly, after they had returned from Edom and the Greater Demon, Asmodeous had stolen all of his memories of the Shadow world and her. She had felt so much pain in that time, had shed so many tears. She sometimes still couldn't believe he was actually standing in front of her, dancing with her, talking. She hugged him unexpectedly, burying her head into his chest. It took Simon a moment to get over his surprise before he was returning the hug.

"What was that for?" he asked when she finally pulled away.

Clary shrugged and glanced up at him. "You're my best friend, and I love you, and I never want to lose you."

He shook his head, and some of his dark hair fell into his face. He didn't bother to push it away as he stared intensely down at her. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying whether you like it or not. I wouldn't have asked you to be my parabatai if I wasn't going to stick around."

Clary smiled and rested her head on her friend's chest. They were silent for a moment. Simon glanced over at Jace, meeting the golden gaze. He was talking with Alec, both of their heads lowered in conversation, but his eyes were trained on Clary, keeping tabs on her. When Jace realised Simon was watching him, he nodded his head, smiling softly.

"So, how does it feel?" Simon asked eventually, breaking the silence between them.

Clary lifted her head off his chest to glance up. "How does what feel? Loving you? Well, I mean you're my best friend…"

She started to ramble on and on about all of the reasons why she loved him. He liked hearing it, but he cut her off. Simon indicated at her, pointing at her golden clothes and her dolled up appearance. "No, I meant being married and being pregnant with what could possibly be the best Shadowhunter ever. Feel any different?"

Clary opened her mouth to reply, but the words stuck on her tongue as a loud explosion erupted from somewhere behind them. Clary spun out of Simon's grasp, panic rising in her and replacing the happiness that had been there just moments before. She could see everyone else doing the same as her, heads swivelling to locate the source of the sound, and brows furrowing in confusion.

"My, my, my," a voice drawled, and the blood drained from Clary's body as her brain identified the familiar voice without seeing the source. When her eyes found him, she felt the breath go out from her. He was dressed up for a special occasion, as if he, too, had received an invite to their wedding. He wore a black tux, tailored to show off his broad shoulders. A bow tie was secured just below his Adam's apple. "What a beautiful sight this is."

Clary felt a pressure at her elbow, and heard Jace's harsh breathing above her. In her moment of distraction from her uncle, she hadn't seen Jace move to stand beside her, but she felt his arm curve around her shoulders protectively.

His lips were at her ear, kissing her cheek quickly as he began to pull away. "Stay here," he murmured softly.

Clary scrambled after him, snatching at his hand. He looked at her in surprise. "Please," she begged. "Don't put yourself in the path of danger. I need you." She folded her hand over her stomach for emphasis, and his gaze followed her movements. His face crumbled as his eyes flickered between her eyes, her stomach, and the man who claimed was her uncle. But he pressed his lips to her forehead, and Clary let her eyes close, savouring the feel of his lips on her skin, and the way he protected her.

"I can't risk losing you again," Jace said. He squeezed her hand and smiled reassuringly. "I'll be back."

Jace moved away quickly before Clary could get another word in and stop him again. Alec, Simon and Luke joined him, while Isabelle stepped to stand beside Clary.

Jace removed a blade from the inside of his pants legs, while Luke transformed into his wolf form. But none of this fazed Claudius. Instead of stepping back or preparing himself for a battle, he laughed. "Don't waste your energy trying to harm me, pathetic little Shadowhunters and Downworlders. It is impossible to hurt me because I am not actually here, you see?" He waved a hand across his body, and the limb went straight through his clothes, and came out the other side of his tall, lanky frame. He turned to show them his hand sticking out of his spine. Jace growled in frustration, and Claudius laughed again, grinning triumphantly.

"What do you want, traitor?" Jace turned in surprise at the familiar voice. Magnus had stepped up with the defending party. His cat eyes were slitted into glares at the fellow warlock.

"The same thing I have always wanted, ever since day one. I still want my blood, which has still not be given to me." Claudius' eyes wandered around the party, searching for a particular red head. He caught Clary's gaze finally and turned the corners of his lips up in a smile. "Congratulations, by the way. I was so happy to hear of your wedding and pregnancy, I just had to come see for myself." Voices murmured all around her. She still hadn't told anyone else but Jace and Izzy. But now the entire Shadowhunter world knew about her connections with Claudius, and her pregnancy. Clary cursed. "You practically look like your glowing. Marriage and motherhood look good on you."

Jace stepped towards Claudius threateningly, blocking Claudius' view of his wife. "Don't you dare talk to her. How do you know she's pregnant?"

Claudius raised a single shoulder in an effortless shrug. "I know a lot of things you don't know, Jace Herondale."

Jace growled and lunged, raising his seraph blade above his head and bringing it down in a wild arc, right through what should have been Claudius' body. But instead, it slipped straight through, leaving no trace of a wound or blood behind. Jace fell through the warlock's body, almost landing on his knees while he tried to catch himself. Claudius turned to stare at the shadowhunter with amusement.

"I told you. You can't harm me. But I think you've reminded me about how long I've stayed here and not gotten what I want." Claudius could now see his niece in plain view, now that her husband didn't stand in front of her. "Think about it, Clarissa. I need blood, and it's either going to be your blood or your brother's. And if that's still not enough motivation for you, then I will be forced to come after your loved ones. And I won't hesitate to make you stand and watch while I burn them all to Hell. Make your choice, but hurry it up. I'm growing impatient." And with that, he was gone, leaving everyone to stare at the space he once occupied.

Clary could feel everyone's eyes trained on her. Jace approached her carefully, wrapping her in his warm arms. Clary noticed Jace's jacket moving under her fingertipss as she went to lay her head on his chest. Clary pulled away slightly, still aware of everyone staring at them. But she spoke anyway, "You're shaking."

Jace shook his head, and kissed her hair. "No," he said. "I'm not. You are, Clary." His arms tightened around her, and she realised he was right. She _was_ shaking, and she wasn't cold.

Jace looked up from Clary's hair, glancing around at the surrounding party who all wore concerned expressions. The Clave now knew three secrets, all within a night. They knew Clary Fairchild was expecting a child. They knew about this mysterious man, Claudius, who threatened the lives of Shadowhunters. And they also probably knew about the return of the person they thought was Sebastian Morgenstern. They all started forward, particularly Robert Lightwood, questions and accusations already forming on their tongues, ready to be spat out like poisonous pills. But Jace held Clary back, silently shaking his head. He pushed through the crowd, and marched his wife back towards the Institute, holding her while she shook.

***PAGE BREAK***

Clary had changed into a pair of workout pants and one of Jace's shirts, and she had been left in their room while Jace and the others tried to work out a plan. Once Jace had kissed her, and moved out of the room, she had curled up in a ball on her side of the bed, and clutched Jace's pillow to her chest. She breathed in the scent which lingered there.

It was hard to believe how quickly things had changed. Just a couple of hours ago, she had sealed her future to the best shadowhunter of his generation, Jace Herondale. They had been dancing, and then she had twirled in Simon's arms. Everything had been perfect. Clary had felt the happiest she had felt in a long time, and she had felt safe. How quickly it had changed.

Clary felt her stomach roll. Once, twice, three times before she was running for the bathroom and crashing to the floor. She leaned over the toilet, and dry heaved, trying to bring something up so she could be relieved from the rolling ocean in her stomach. She hadn't eaten anything before the wedding, her stomach had been in knots then too, but because of wedding jitters and morning sickness. And then Claudius had interrupted the service before she had been able to force a single bite of food into her mouth. There was nothing to bring up.

She crouched by the toilet for what felt like hours, letting the cool temperature of the bathroom tiles seep through the palms of her hands. Finally, she pushed herself up and wandered over to the basin, where she rinsed her mouth out and swallowed some water. She stood and searched her reflection in the mirror, trying to find the glow her uncle had suggested. But now, she was pale, the colour of ash, her hair pulled into a messy bun on the top of her head. She looked pretty terrible, but she went in search of Jace and the others.

She heard riled up voices coming from the library. Jace's was the loudest, yelling at everyone who went against him. She thought she heard Alec telling him to calm down, but it sounded like it did no good. Clary pushed on the big doors to the library, and stepped inside. The noise vanished the second she stepped in, like Magnus had used his magic and pressed a mute button. Everyone stared at her as she approached the table, her spine rod straight. Everyone, Jace included, was still dressed in their wedding clothes. Clary felt a little out of place.

"What's the plan?" she asked when the conversation didn't resume.

Jace came to her side, and touched her elbow slightly. She pulled away, wanting to appear stronger than she felt; Jace tensed beside her at her withdrawal. "Are you okay?" he asked, low and quiet so only she would be able to hear. Clary nodded, but she didn't dare look up at him. She knew her eyes would give away the truth.

Robert spoke first. His voice was firm, but not as hard or cold as it had once been. "Jace has filled us in on the past events, and I must begin saying how disappointed I am to hear of your lack of communication with us, particularly after we have entrusted the New York Institute to you. Although, we really shouldn't be all that surprised. But, we have all agreed, that he needs to be stopped."

"When?" Clary asked.

"Tomorrow," Jia said, transferring her gaze onto Clary. "At first light. We can't leave this any longer. It has been left alone for too long already."

"And my brother?"

Robert's eyes pierced through Clary like pieces of broken glass. She shrunk back a little. "We have all suffered so much at the hands of Sebastian Morgenstern. There is a long, bloody history there. You, Clary, of all people should understand this when I say we can't let him live. It's too risky and dangerous."

Clary could feel a heat building in her cheeks. "He's a Shadowhunter. Just like all of us."

"With demon blood," someone pointed out but Clary didn't pay attention to who.

Her gaze swung around the room. "He's not Sebastian anymore. He's Jonathon. You haven't seen him. You don't understand. He's not the same person. He deserves to be saved. Let me deal with him."

Everyone was staring at her like she had grown a third hand out of her forehead. "We'll see what we can do." Robert again and Clary looked at him with surprise. His eyes weren't on her though, they were on Jace, who still stood silently beside her. "Let's put this all to rest for tonight, and pick it up in the morning."

They started to disperse after that. Most of them went to occupy a room in the Institute, but some of the others left for Idris, planning to return at first light. Clary couldn't think of a time when the Institute had been so busy.

Jace gently took Clary's hand and pulled her down the hallway. They didn't get far before a voice stopped them. They turned to find Jia. She looked tired, and worn out, her shoulders sagging with exhaustion. "Clary, I just wanted to say congratulations on your pregnancy. You two are going to make excellent parents."

"Thank you, Jia." Jace spoke for the both of them, and started back down the hallway, hand still wrapped around Clary's. When they stepped into their bedroom, Jace turned to Clary, and brushed loose strands of hair from her face; his hand lingered against her cheek. Clary turned her head into his open palm, allowing herself to show the emotion she had been trying to hide before. In their room, she didn't care if Jace saw how she was feeling. He was just Jace, and she loved him.

"Tell me," he whispered and her eyes were forced to open to stare up into his golden eyes.

She sighed and crumpled into him. He held her tightly, letting her talk into his chest. She felt tears burn at the corners, and couldn't choke them down. They spilled over and stained Jace's white, button-down shirt. "I'm just scared," she admitted in a choked voice, and Jace's arms tightened around her. He didn't talk though, just waited for her to let all of her worries and fears tumble of her tongue like waterdrops. "I'm scared something is going to happen to you now that I need you more than ever. I'm scared for our baby because my uncle knows about him or her, and I'm the one who is meant to protect them. I'm scared for my brother because I don't know what's going to happen to him. There's just so much going on right now, and it's so hard to sort it all out in my head."

Jace held Clary while she cried, and when the tears slowly came to a slow stop, he pushed her into bed, and pulled the covers around her, tucking her in. Clary gazed up at him, exhaustion pulling on her eyelids. He brushed a kiss to her forehead. "Get some rest, Clary. I'll be back later."

He started to pull away but Clary's hand dashed out from under the covers, and caught at his hand. She held onto it tightly. "Where are you going?"

He squeezed her hand. "To find Robert and make a plan. I'll make sure nothing happens to Jonathon. I'll fight for him, for you."

"I'm not going, am I?" She asked into the silence that followed.

"No. I don't want you out there when you're pregnant. Particularly now that I know Claudius knows too."

Clary nodded, and tugged on his arm. "Can you stay? I don't want to be left alone."

He sighed but shook his head. Jace sat on the bed, with his back against the headboard and ankles crossed on top of the covers. "I'll stay until you fall asleep, and then I'll have to go."

Clary curled up on her side, still holding on to Jace's hand tightly. She put her head in his lap and felt his spare hand stroke her head. It felt like hours before she felt herself tumbling into a restless sleep, and absently felt Jace slip away.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading yet another really long chapter! Don't forget to review!**

 **I wanted to apologise if the next few chapters are slower to come out. I've just gone back to uni and am already feeling flooded with assessment and everything. I'm writing when I can, but sometimes it could be a little slow. But I promise, I'll try and get new chapters out as soon as I can.**

 **I also wrote a scene with Clary and Simon where Clary is tipsy from too much champagne. And I was going to include it before I remembered she was pregnant and probably shouldn't be drinking champagne. So I'm thinking of maybe writing it as a one-shot. What do you guys think?**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Clary woke to an empty bed, rolling over to find Jace's side cold and looking unslept in. She stumbled out of bed, wandering to the windows to peer outside. The sun looked like it had been up for a good couple of hours; the others would be long gone. That meant Jace too. And hopefully, her evil uncle would no longer be around to cause grief.

She sighed and checked her phone. There was a message from Jace to remind her where he was, but she didn't bother replying, settling on leaving it face down on the bedside table. She headed down to the kitchen, her stomach rumbling for food.

A dark headed figure sat at the island counter, head bowed over a book in his hands. As she approached, his cat eyes flickered to Clary. He smiled. "Good morning, Sleeping Beauty."

"What are you doing here?"

Magnus rolled his eyes. "How nice to see you too."

She sat beside him. "It _is_ nice to see you, Magnus. But I thought everyone would be fighting Claudius, yourself included."

"You're not the only being left out of the fun, Biscuit. I've been given strict instructions from your golden husband to stay here and look after you."

This time it was Clary's turn to roll her eyes. Of course. "I don't need to be babysat. Jace should know that."

Magnus looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "I think you and I both remember what happened last time you were left here on your own. He doesn't want a repeat, and neither do I, if I'm being honest."

"You care about me?"

Magnus laughed but there was a warmth to the sound. "Don't be silly. It just took a lot of energy to heal you." She glanced at him, finding him smiling.

Magnus and Clary sat side by side as Magnus conjured up a feast of food out of thin air, and they ate in quiet conversation. After she had eaten, Clary retreated to the lounge, and brought out her sketch book. She didn't have to think about what she wanted to draw, her pencil was already drawing out a rough outline as if it had a mind of its own.

It wasn't long into her sketching that Clary heard the elevator click into place on the main landing. Her gaze lifted from the book on her lap, and she started towards the doorway. There was a commotion: people grunting in what sounded like pain, loud conversations, shuffling feet. Clary broke out into the hallway, and her eyes immediately landed on Jace who was leaning heavily against Alec's shoulder; Jace's shirt front was drenched with blood, parts tattered and hanging together by only a thread.

Clary's eyes widened as Jace's gaze found her too. He tried to straighten himself up, to stop her from worrying, but he slumped against Alec faster than he was standing. Clary walked over to them quickly and touched Jace's arm. "Jace… by the Angel. What happened?"

She slipped to his side, lifting the arm on her side to guide it around her neck and balance out his weight with Alec on the other side. Jace drew away from her though, and hurt flashed across her face before she could stop it. He placed the hand on her shoulder instead, squeezing it reassuringly. "I'm okay," he said, and his voice was rough and dull like all of his energy had been zapped out of him. "Don't worry about me."

"Jace…" she began, and put a hand on his arm as he let it fall from his shoulder. He didn't pull away this time and she tightened her grip. She followed them down into the infirmary, Clary holding onto him the entire way. "Will you please tell me what happened?"

Jace glanced at her, and tried for a smile. His lip was busted, and blood stained the front of his white teeth. He must have seen her horror because he quickly closed his lips to a tight smile. "It's all right. We were just outnumbered, that's all."

"Outnumbered?" she said, a little too loudly and other patients in the infirmary glanced their way. Alec helped Jace onto one of the beds, and Jace's blood stained the white sheets almost instantly. Clary lowered her voice. "Jace, how by the Angel were you outnumbered? You had half the clave with you, and he was one man."

"The bastard is a warlock, Clary." His eyes were blazing into her, never flinching as Alec cut his shirt away from his skin, and his words were harsh. She glanced down briefly, gaze catching on the open wound. Her stomach rolled at the smell of blood and the sight of his wound. Turns out she didn't like any of that now she was pregnant. She swallowed hard as bile threatened to slide up her throat, and she quickly brought her gaze back up to Jace. Jace's eyes and voice softened as he continued to watch her. "He summoned a hoard of demons. And I'm talking a lot of them, more than we could fight. It was a bloody battle, and I wasn't sure if we were going to win for a little bit. We lost a few people. Those of us who were only injured were the lucky ones."

Clary glanced around the room where other Shadowhunters were bleeding and groaning on the bed. Her eyes returned to Jace's wound. The skin on the left side of his body was torn to shreds; the skin around it was red and inflamed, blood leaking out of it. She tried to swallow the bile down again, but it was coming up faster than she could control. Jace looked at her with concern, his eyes narrowing and then widening as she bolted for the nearest bathroom.

There was yelling from behind her, but she didn't dare stop to find out what was happening. It was only when she felt a warm hand on her back that she realised why. Jace crouched behind her, holding her hair back, and keeping a reassuring a hand on her back as she heaved.

"You okay?" he asked when she was done, gently helping her up from the ground.

She rolled her eyes up at him. "You shouldn't be here. You should be with Alec, resting, getting an _iratze._ " She turned back to him, sniffling. He gave her a look and reached behind her to flush the toilet. "What?" she asked. "I'm okay."

"Being sick doesn't seem very okay to me," he replied, and brought his hands up to take her face between his palms. But he stopped short as he realised his hands were covered in blood and demon ichor; he let them fall back to his sides with a sigh.

"I'm pregnant, Jace. I'm just a little more sensitive at the moment, but I'm okay." His eyes lit up at the word _pregnant._ She shook her head softly, a small smile playing on her lips. "Come on, Handsome," she said. "Let's get you fixed up so I can be around you without feeling sick."

He laughed and commented on her nickname, which of course rewarded him with a light slap on the arm. Alec stood in the infirmary, waiting for them to return. He did not look impressed as he glared straight past Clary to Jace. Jace pretended to look scared which made Alec roll his eyes. Alec reached into his back pocket and retrieved his stele. "Come here, doofus, and let me fix you up before you run away again."

Obediently, Jace held his arm out and let Alec take the limb in question, placing the tip of his stele to the skin. The black swirls of the healing rune burned into Jace's skin, tangling with the blue veins which sat beneath the surface. Clary watched, only just holding it together, as each of his wounds began to heal. Only the blood over his body and the white scar lines were the signs of his injuries.

"So what happened to Claudius? He's not still out there, is he?" She hated to admit she was scared in front of anyone else but Jace, that her uncle had managed to get under her skin and make her heart flutter like a trapped rabbit whenever she thought of him. But Jace looked at her as if he knew what she was thinking. Although, of course he knew what she was thinking. Jace knew her better than she knew herself. He smiled reassuringly.

"We got him, baby. He's long dead," Jace said. "You don't have to worry about him anymore."

Clary let go of a breath she hadn't realised she was holding, and Jace smiled at her again. He reached out a hand toward her, and despite the blood and ichor caked into the lines of his palm, she let him hold her hand. "And my brother? Did you find him?" Jace looked at Alec, and Clary looked between the two of them. "What's going on? Where's my brother? Please tell me didn't die too…" Jace shook his head, and she looked at him closely.

"We don't know where he is," Alec said, and she turned her gaze on him.

"What does that mean?"

"He wasn't with Claudius. We looked but we had to get back. So many people were hurt. Magnus is trying to find him. Don't worry."

Jace squeezed Clary's hand, but she barely felt it. Her mind was caught on the images of Jonathon the last time she had seen him. How skinny and broken he had looked… She heard Jace and Alec speaking above her, but the words were lost. She glanced up again suddenly. "We need to find him." They both looked at her with sad eyes. She focused on Jace, knowing she would be able to convince him the most. She held onto his hand tightly. "I need to find him."

"I know, baby. I know. And we will. But we need to know where to start first." He smelled himself and flinched. "And right now, that's a shower for me and a kiss from my beautiful wife." When she stared at him, not saying a word, his eyes softened. "Give Magnus some time to figure something out. He's our best hope."

Clary nodded, and let Jace lead her out of the infirmary and to their room. She waited on the bed as the water in the bathroom turned on and off. Jace stepped out of the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist. He looked better now that he wasn't injured and covered in blood; it made Clary relax a little bit.

He sat beside her, and Clary could smell his soap. He smelled like Jace again. She leaned a little closer, pressing her nose into his shoulder. He chuckled softly. "Better?" His voice was quiet, only reserved for her even though she was the only other person in the room. She nodded. He held the back of her head, holding her against his shoulder.

After a while, he began to pull away but she scooted closer to him. "We should find Magnus and see if he's found anything," Jace said.

She pulled back, eyes searching his face. "Shouldn't you be resting? I know the _iratze_ healed you, but you still need rest."

He shrugged, like she knew he would. "You're more important to me and I know your brother is important to you." When she looked like she was about to protest, he added with a smile, hooking his finger through her curls, "I know. I'm important to you too. Trust me, I know, Clary." He kissed her, short and sweet. "But I'll be okay. For today it's just a discussion, nothing more. Nothing else will happen until tomorrow."

Clary leant into him again, curling into his side. "I'm glad you're okay. You scared me."

He tightened his grip on her waist. "I'm sorry. I'll be more careful next time. It's just when someone threatens or hurts my girl, I get a little protective."

She laughed. "A little? Jace, you made Magnus babysit me. You know I don't need protecting."

She felt his side rumble with his chuckle. "I know, I know. But I'm not just protecting you anymore, I'm protecting our baby too."

Clary smiled and took his lips in her own. She shifted and before she knew it, Jace was pulling back, clearing his throat awkwardly. "As much as I love this," he said and kissed her again. "We should really go find Magnus, and before I become completely out of control."

Clary realised where her hand had been slowly drifting, and blushed.

Dressed and clean, Jace led Clary down the hallway to the library. The library was just as busy as it had been the night before when they had all discussed what to do about her uncle. There was only a few people missing. Some of those people she remembered seeing in the infirmary, and the other people she didn't remember seeing at all. She swallowed as she suddenly realised where they were.

Magnus sat at the desk in the centre of the library, stacks of books spread out around him. He glanced up as they approached and smiled.

"How's it going, Magnus?" Jace asked.

"I've found a way to find Jonathon Morgenstern. There's only one thing we need."

This piqued Clary's interest. "What? What do we need, Magnus?"

His cat eyes flickered to Clary, a look in them she couldn't read. "Blood. Your blood, Clary."

 **A/N: Hey guys,**

 **Sorry it's taken me so long to upload another chapter. Like I said in the previous chapter, I've gone back to uni so I have a lot of assessment that's due at the moment. Hope you like this chapter, and I'll make sure to get a new one out as soon as I can.**

 **Don't forget to review and tell me if there's anything you want to see xx**


End file.
